Spanish Language Usage Equates to Higher Convenience Store Shopping Frequency, Reports NPD

Among Hispanic shoppers, the higher visits frequency was largely attributed to Spanish-dominant shoppers (Including bi-lingual and Spanish-only speakers), according to the recently released NPD report, which examines the typical convenience store shopping behavior of Hispanics by level of acculturation and how it compares to non-Hispanics.

26 June 2012 --- On average, Hispanics visit convenience stores (c-stores) more frequently on a monthly basis compared to non-Hispanics, according to a recently released report by The NPD Group, a leading market research company. The NPD report, entitled The Hispanic Convenience Store Shopper, finds that Hispanics overall made almost two more visits a month than non-Hispanics to major oil chain convenience stores, and nearly one more visit over a 30-day period to traditional c-stores than non-Hispanics.

Among Hispanic shoppers, the higher visits frequency was largely attributed to Spanish-dominant shoppers (Including bi-lingual and Spanish-only speakers),  according to the recently released NPD report, which examines the typical convenience store shopping behavior of Hispanics by level of acculturation and how it compares to non-Hispanics.  English-dominant Hispanic shoppers were more comparable to non-Hispanics.  Hispanics on average also spent more at c-stores than non-Hispanics with spending levels among Hispanics increasing as acculturation level decreases.

Like non-Hispanics, convenience is the primary reason three out of four Hispanics select a c-store, and ten percent of Hispanics select a c-store because a Spanish-speaking employee is available to them.  The availability of motor fuel is of more importance to Spanish-dominant Hispanics than English-dominant Hispanics when it comes to store choice. In addition to higher frequency and spending levels, The Hispanic Convenience Store Shopper report findings also illustrate that Spanish speakers tend to buy a larger variety of items than more acculturated Hispanics.

 “Hispanics are the fastest growing segment of the U.S. population, and an important segment for the c-store channel,” says David Portalatin, NPD’s c-store industry analyst. “As this report reveals, Hispanics share a common language but they are not homogenous. The key to attracting Hispanics is to understand their shopping behaviors, product purchase, brand preference, and reasons for selecting retailers as a population segment and by level of acculturation.”

Wessanen has started the divestment process of its US subsidiary American Beverage Corporation (ABC). In line with our strategy to focus on organic food in Europe with the clear vision to make our organic brands most desired in Europe, we previously labelled ABC as non-core.

We expect the divestment to finalise in the fourth quarter of the year. The process is being managed by Moelis & Company.

The proceeds from the sale will be primarily used to further grow our European activities, both autonomously and via add-on acquisitions, while maintaining a conservative capital structure.

Over the last few years ABC management has done a great job in turning around the company. Multiple processes in areas such as production, supply chain, sales, marketing and finance have improved drastically. As a result ABC is growing, benefiting from expanded distribution, significantly higher marketing investments and brand activation.

Source: NPD Report