Hispanic Consumers are Driving Financial Services Sector Growth [WEBINAR]

Univision Communications Inc. (UCI) and The Harris Poll have released findings of a national study, “Banking on Hispanics for Growth,” to offer insights regarding Hispanic consumers’ attitudes and behaviors on the financial services sector. The findings were unveiled in a webinar presented by Roberto Ruiz, UCI’s executive vice president of Strategy & Insights, and Kathy Steinberg, The Harris Poll’s Senior Consultant PR Research.

The findings revealed that U.S. Hispanics are interested in and want to use financial services to help achieve their financial goals. The study examined how Hispanic goals and aspirations differ from non-Hispanics. Hispanics believe that prosperity is really about progression – it’s about attaining the classic “American Dream,” and, through hard work, improving their financial situation and their families’ lives. Thus, as Hispanics’ financial needs evolve, opportunities emerge for marketers to reach them by introducing new products and services to help them reach their goals. Not surprisingly, these consumers are actively utilizing a variety of financial services today, and their usage growth is outpacing that of non-Hispanics.

“UCI commissioned this study to help brands understand the financial needs of this burgeoning demographic and provide new ways of engaging with this consumer to create brand awareness,” said Roberto Ruiz, EVP of Strategy & Insights, Univision Communications Inc. “The savvy companies who understand the emotional connection they can achieve with these brand-loyal consumers –including those who are bilingual– by advertising in Spanish, can earn great success with this consumer.”

When engaging Hispanics, doing so through culturally relevant messaging and in their preferred language is key for financial companies looking to develop a trusted relationship with this consumer. This notion is evidenced by how over two-thirds of the Hispanics surveyed said that they feel more of an emotional connection to a financial services company that advertises in Spanish.

Due to less outreach from financial institutions to the Hispanic community, there is a higher percentage of Hispanics, in comparison to non-Hispanics, who want to obtain more financial information to plan for their futures. In fact, 80% are “interested” in learning how financial services and products can help them achieve their life goals. Furthermore, two-thirds of Hispanics proactively seek information about financial products and services (67%) compared to 56% of non-Hispanics. Another significant difference between Hispanics and non-Hispanics is Hispanics’ reliance on advertising as a source of financial information. In fact, Hispanics are twice as likely as non-Hispanics to find ads for financial services interesting.

“Clearly, this an enormous potential market for financial services, yet the industry is underserving by not seeing their products through the lens of the unique Hispanic American experience,” says John Gerzema, CEO of Harris Insights & Analytics. “Our Univision study found that ‘prosperity’ is more than about money; it’s about progress, acceptance and even intersectionality. Wealth is a multi-faceted term, woven through the values of hard work, family, community, acceptance and American pride. And with seventeen more years of effective buying power than other generations, those savvy firms who understand this deeper, emotional context will prosper.”

To view webinar CLICK HERE.

The Univision Communications-Harris Poll quantitative study included a total sample of 1,506 Adults 18-54 (1,001 Hispanics and 505 non-Hispanics.) The online study was conducted in both English and Spanish from June 22 through July 27, 2017.

 
 


 

 

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