HOUSTON - On average, Hispanics visit convenience stores more frequently on a monthly basis compared to non-Hispanics, according to a new report by The NPD Group.
The report, The Hispanic Convenience Store Shopper, reveals that Hispanics overall made almost two more visits a month than non-Hispanics to major oil chain c-stores, and nearly one more visit over a 30-day period to traditional c-stores than non-Hispanics.
Among Hispanic shoppers, the higher visits frequency was largely attributed to Spanish-dominant shoppers (Including bi-lingual and Spanish-only speakers), according to the report, which examines the typical c-store shopping behavior of Hispanics by level of acculturation and how it compares to non-Hispanics. English-dominant Hispanic shoppers were more comparable to non-Hispanics. Hispanics on average also spent more at c-stores than non-Hispanics with spending levels among Hispanics increasing as acculturation level decreases.
Like non-Hispanics, convenience is the primary reason three out of four Hispanics select a c-store, and ten percent of Hispanics select a c-store because a Spanish-speaking employee is available to them. The availability of motor fuel is of more importance to Spanish-dominant Hispanics than English-dominant Hispanics when it comes to store choice. In addition to higher frequency and spending levels, The Hispanic Convenience Store Shopper report findings also illustrate that Spanish speakers tend to buy a larger variety of items than more acculturated Hispanics.
"Hispanics are the fastest growing segment of the U.S. population, and an important segment for the c-store channel," said David Portalatin, NPD??s c-store industry analyst and frequent NACS State of the Industry Summit and NACS Show speaker. "As this report reveals, Hispanics share a common language but they are not homogenous. The key to attracting Hispanics is to understand their shopping behaviors, product purchase, brand preference, and reasons for selecting retailers as a population segment and by level of acculturation