Amazon Opens Its Doors To Millions Of Hispanic Shoppers
Amazon rolled out a Spanish-language version of Amazon.com and in turn, helped dispel the myth that because Hispanics are young and the majority are U.S. born, there is no reason to communicate with them in Spanish.
Amazon’s statement said: Marketing to Spanish-preferring online Hispanics makes good business sense.
As a data-driven, consumer-first company, Amazon undoubtedly assessed the Spanish-language e-commerce opportunity rigorously and likely found that there is a critical mass of highly engaged online shoppers who prefer Spanish.
There are “more than 40 million native Spanish speakers and over 10 million bilingual Hispanics in the U.S.,” making the U.S. the “second-largest Spanish-speaking country in the world, after Mexico.”
Not only is there a critical mass of Spanish-speaking consumers online in the U.S., they are more likely to shop online when compared to the general market. An IRI study found that “Hispanics tend to shop online more than non-Hispanics in several critical categories, including cosmetics, fragrances and beauty, and general household products.”
It remains to be seen when will marketers in the UK and Europe will catch up and start targeting an important ethnic customer base.
