Top E-commerce Strategies for Reaching U.S. Hispanic Consumers

Success in the e-commerce industry is no longer just about your products or services; it’s more about your customers and how well you cater to their needs. And as the second largest minority in America, Hispanic consumers should definitely be on your list. 

That being said, you need to be aware of the best strategies to reach, engage, and convert this audience. 

Being a Latino myself, I think it's best that I bring you up to speed on how you can do that. So, without further ado, let’s dive into some of the most effective e-commerce strategies for targeting Hispanic consumers.

Why You Should Focus on Hispanic Consumers

It’s always better to understand the why before you dive into the how. When it comes to Latinos, there are a lot of reasons why tapping into this market can open new doors for your e-commerce business. 

Let me share some of the major ones:

• Population Size: There are an estimated 68 million Hispanic people in the United States, as of 2024. That number alone should be reason enough for you to consider tapping into the Latino population. 
• Growing Purchasing Power: Even though a lot of Hispanic individuals still earn limited incomes, that is gradually changing since their spending power is growing. 
• Brand Loyalty: Like every other relationship or activity Latinos pursue, they stay loyal. For brands, that could mean a long-term connection and advocacy to others. 

That about covers the why. Now, let’s dive into how you can get there. 

Strategies to Target Hispanic Consumers 

It all boils down to improving your marketing, website experience, and customer service, the 3 most important touchpoints between your e-commerce businesses and your customers. 

Marketing often marks the initial interaction and awareness phase, the website is the consideration phase, and customer service is most commonly the action phase. Here’s how you can optimize each of these to effectively target Hispanic customers.

Bilingual Customer Service

Customer service is a touchpoint that can either result in customers walking away from your business or walking with you every step of the way. So, you don’t want to make any mistakes here, and providing bilingual customer service can help with that.

Don’t just take my word for it, because according to a study by Survey Sensum, 68% of shoppers prefer brands communicating in their native language, with 70% feeling more loyal to those brands. 

Your Hispanic customer can freely voice their queries when they feel that the other person can understand and help resolve them better. It might also help you to create a dedicated team with Hispanic individuals from different cultures for this, as they can empathetically address and resolve customer queries. 

Many companies are putting this strategy into action, not just e-commerce brands, which should ring a bell of its significance. For example, internet providers like Optimum offer bilingual customer service in English and Spanish through Optimum servicio al cliente, making their business more accessible for consumers. 

Personalized Marketing

Like I mentioned, marketing is the first customer touchpoint with your Hispanic audience. Your focus here should be to instantly grab the viewer's attention, and the key to that is personalization. 

Personalization is the process of tailoring your marketing content to resonate with a specific audience. For Hispanic customers, you’ll need to focus on two main aspects, which are: 

• The buying stage that your target customers are in.  
• Elements that are important to different Hispanic cultures, such as family and community, to name a few.  

With this information at hand, you can tailor your content and messaging accordingly, yet with a focus on authenticity, relatability, and respect. 

For example, let’s say you’re targeting a Hispanic individual in the awareness phase for a new Chipotle sauce, you could create a family-oriented ad that highlights local ingredients. 

For repeat customers, data is your best friend. Most e-commerce platforms, such as Shopify, allow you access to tons of data that you can use to understand your customers' previous buying patterns, demographics, or preferences and create relevant offers, bundles, or deals. 

Localized Spanish Websites

Did you know that 72% of consumers prefer spending almost all their time on websites in their native language? To top that, 40% of consumers don’t buy from a website that’s not in their native language, and Hispanics are among them. 

The solution is to either allow your customers to browse your website in Spanish or create a dedicated Spanish website. This can allow you to turn what may have been previously lost sales opportunities into potentially lifelong connections and brand advocates. 

However, while language plays a major role, you also need to accurately localize website elements. 

To do that, you’ll once again need to blend a touch of Hispanic cultural elements into your website content. What this does is make the shopping experience feel like home for Hispanic shoppers, boosting their trust and the chances of them converting and turning into repeat customers, and actively supporting your business.  

Hispanic Consumers – A Potentially Rewarding Market for E-Commerce Businesses

The sheer size, loyalty, and growing spending power of Hispanic consumers make targeting them a potentially rewarding business decision for various e-commerce brands. 

By personalizing your marketing through cultural elements and buying phases, localizing your website, and offering bilingual customer service, you can successfully engage, convert, and retain shoppers from this group.