5 Charts to Understand the Shopping Habits of US Hispanic Consumers

Hispanic buying power in the US has skyrocketed since 2010, rising from $1 trillion to a projected $2.8 trillion by 2026, according to the Selig Center for Economic Growth. Retailers and brands need to understand the cohort’s economic profile and shopping habits—particularly as they aim to capture younger generations of digital natives.

Hispanic buying power propels consumer spending growth—but many Hispanic households struggle.

• Hispanic spending bolsters overall US market growth. Hispanic buying power is expected to increase by about 32% from 2021 to 2026, according to the Selig Center for Economic Growth. Overall US consumer buying power will rise by 23% in the same period.
• Hispanic buying power has been buoyed by a slowly narrowing wage gap. The mean income before taxes for Hispanic employees in 2021 was 78.5% of that earned by non-Hispanic employees, per the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, up from 75.1% five years earlier.
• But more than half of Hispanic households are struggling financially. In 2021, around a third (34.4%) of all US households had difficulty paying bills and expenses, per Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. By 2022, 52.2% of Hispanic households were cash strapped, compared with 35.7% overall in the US.