Study: Gaps In Hispanic Consumer Behavior

Hispanics are growing faster than any other racial or ethnic group in the country, the U.S. Census Bureau reported last week. Clearly, the U.S. Latino marketing segment isn’t cooling down. But when Mexicans move to the U.S., do they take their consumer behavior with them?

A new study from Havas’ Euro RSCG sheds light on how Mexicans differ from Mexican Americans—two sectors that in the past were often grouped together in terms of marketing strategies. (The agency has its own Hispanic unit, Euro RSCG Latina, whose strategic planner, Verena Sisa, was one of the study’s authors.)

Among the findings: Mexican Americans are more conservative than their counterparts south of the border; they are also less likely to be embrace technology and trust advertising.

The survey, which involved face-to-face interviews with 2,000 Mexicans, found that while Mexicans were more likely to identify themselves as “traditionalists” than Mexican Americans were (39 percent vs.