| Year 2003-2004 News
& Magazine Articles
Census
shows businesses can’t afford to ignore Hispanic
market
Published:
Winter 2003
Source: Urban Call
The 2000 Census brought
Latino consumers’ center stage with big fanfare.
No longer can any business afford to ignore this prominent
consumer group. For more than 40 years, a significant
number of emigrants from every country in Latin America
have become active members of the U.S. consumer market.
In less than 40 years, the Hispanic market has more
than quadrupled in size, a trend that is projected
to continue for a long time. Between 1960 and 2001,
the number of Hispanic consumers in the continental
United States increased from 6.9 million to 35.3 million,
representing 12.5 percent of the total U.S. population.
The top-line data
from the 2000 Census confirm that Hispanics are the
fastest growing minority in the United States. Census
2000 also counted 3.8 million people living in the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, people not included in
the 35.3 million mentioned above. When Puerto Rico
is taken into consideration, we are talking about
just over 39 million people who claim Hispanic origin.
If you assume a 3 percent undercount, there are now
40 million Latinos in the United States.
Hispanic or Latino?
The terms “Hispanic”
and “Latino” are often used interchangeably.
In a Gallup poll in mid-2001, Americans of Spanish
origin overwhelmingly said they preferred to be called
Hispanic rather than Latino, by a 67 percent of 13
percent margin. However, regardless of which term
they favor, few Hispanics say they are significantly
bothered by the use of either term.
Hispanic Diversity
Hispanics in the
United States come from every Spanish-speaking country
in the world, but primarly from Central and South
American countries, as shown in the accompanying table.
People of Mexican origin now make up 58.5 percent
of the Hispanic population in the United States, compared
with 65 percent in 1999. That decrease can be attributed
to the growth of other groups, especially those from
Central America (not including Mexicans) who now represent
poorly 10 percent of Hispanics in the United States.
Excerpted from Marketing
to American Latinos: A Guide to the In-Culture Approach,
Part 2. Isabel Valdes is senior advisor to Santiago
Solutions Group. To learn more about Marketing to
American Latinos, Part 2 and Valdes’ other projects,
see www.isabelvaldes.com
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