BALTIMORE – A new Vertis Communications Customer Focus Opiniones survey found that 78 percent of all Hispanics in the United States have a positive perception of private-label store brands. However, only 61 percent of those speaking only Spanish at home maintain a similar outlook. Conversely, 88 percent of Hispanics who speak English at home have a positive outlook on private label brands.

“Customer Focus Opiniones indicates that 27 percent of Spanish-speaking Hispanics believe they don’t know enough about private-label store brands to want to try them,” Jim Litwin, vice president of market insights at Vertis Communications, said in a statement. “This data indicates that retailers with private-label brands have an opportunity to market to Spanish-speaking Hispanic audiences by communicating to them in their native language. Incorporating relevant communication in marketing campaigns is imperative to establishing a connection with this influential audience.”

The study also found that product label information influenced consumer purchases. While 56 percent of Hispanics between the ages of 18 and 24 indicated a product label’s safety guarantee was influential when considering its purchase over another brand, merely 28 percent of Hispanics between the ages of 25 and 34 said safety messaging was important.

The top three most influential pieces of information on a product’s packaging are all safety-related, according to Hispanic and general market respondents. Non-toxic messaging, all natural ingredients and safety guarantee language are most likely to influence purchase. Celebrity endorsements mean almost nothing to both Hispanics and total adults in the United States, with only 2 percent and 5 percent, respectively, indicating that a celebrity’s image or comments on packaging influence purchase.

In addition, the study discovered that 72 percent of all Hispanic adults in America read direct-mail advertising, illustrating the captive Hispanic audience at-hand for marketers. Hispanics influenced by charity-sponsored products and products with a safety guarantee are more likely to read direct mail than other Hispanic adults, with each group representing 76 percent of the population.