Multicultural Americans Are Reshaping the Grocery Store

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. —The U.S. multicultural population is projected to grow by 98 million in coming decades, and Acosta, the sales and marketing company, expects multicultural shoppers to have significant influence on the grocery shopping experience, the company reports.

In its recently released study, Multicultural the Why? The Behind the Buy, Acosta provides insight into the preferences of U.S. African-American, Asian-American and Hispanic shoppers, which includes the following:

Multicultural consumers say they enjoy grocery shopping more than non-Hispanic Caucasian Americans: African-American (72%), Hispanic (65%) and Asian-American (61%) as compared with Caucasian (non-Hispanic) shoppers (56%).

• Shopping with other people is more common among multicultural groups: Asian-American (72%), Hispanic (67%) and African-American (63%) shoppers as compared with Caucasian (non-Hispanic) shoppers (55%).
• Multicultural shoppers purchase groceries across more channels than total U.S. shoppers: More Hispanic consumers (23%) reported shopping in a Hispanic/ethnic grocery store in the past six months versus 3% of total U.S. shoppers.
• Multicultural shoppers are engaged with brands, with many buying grocery brands authentic to their ethnic heritage: Hispanic (49%), Asian-American (46%).
• Many are passionate about their favorite grocery brands: African-American (65%) and Hispanic (59%).
• More multicultural shoppers brought home grocery prepared foods in the past 30 days: Hispanic (76%) vs. (non-Hispanic) shoppers (59%). 

In addition, 44% of Hispanic shoppers reported reading a digital grocery flyer, compared with 35% of total U.S. shoppers; 38% of African-American shoppers reported using a search engine to find recipes online versus 28% of total U.S. shoppers, and 37% of Asian-American shoppers reported using a shopping list on their mobile device versus 26% of total U.S. shoppers.

“The growing multicultural population will drastically impact the grocery industry, and we have already noticed key differences between shopper groups,” said John Clevenger, senior vice president/managing director, Acosta Strategic Advisors. “For example, multicultural shoppers recognize the link between food and their health and are significantly more likely to buy natural and organic foods even though they are more expensive. Understanding these unique values and preferences is vital for manufacturers and retailers to win with this emerging consumer group.”