A recent article by David Hendricks of the San Antonio Express News discusses the ongoing growth and economic impact of Latinos.
Hispanics drive the U.S. economy.
Hispanic consumers and their increasing purchasing power are the growth engine for the U.S. economy, Javier Palomarez, president and CEO of the Washington-based U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, said Wednesday in San Antonio.
“This is a market that is growing faster than anyone anticipated,” Palomarez told nearly 100 people attending a luncheon of the American Marketing Association's San Antonio chapter.
Hispanics now make up 15 percent of the U.S. population, but their household incomes are rising five times faster than the general population, said Palomarez, a former San Antonio resident and a Rio Grande Valley native.
The U.S. Hispanic population also is growing three times faster than the general population, he added.
The purchasing power of Hispanic consumers now is expected to grow 38 percent between 2006 and 2012. Forty-seven percent of the purchasing power is concentrated in Texas and California, Palomarez said.
Although large cities in the Southwest, Florida, New York and Illinois may be strongholds for Hispanic consumers, new markets are springing up across the country.
The Hispanic population in Charlotte, N.C., for example, has grown 500 percent in each of the past 10 years, he said.
As numbers increase and the economic clout of Latinos grows there will continue to be a need for individuals and brands to use authentic engagement to capture the attention of Hispanics across the U.S.
Vista Hispano is the official Hispanic marketing blog of HUB 81, a young and new kind of agency blending strategic capabilities with a passion for all things digital + multicultural + creative.
