What Amazon Knows About Spanish-Speaking Markets – and You Should, Too Craig Witt - Apparel
go to original June 9, 2017

Overseas, Amazon is making big waves. The e-commerce juggernaut now serves consumers in 13 of the world’s top 17 economies. It just acquired e-commerce marketplace Souq.com to make inroads in the Middle East. And closer to home, it’s doubling down on the Hispanic and Spanish-speaking markets. In early March, it added Spanish to its U.S. website, and launched its Prime service in Mexico.

Hispanics are exerting more cultural and economic influence in the States — especially within the past decade. They currently represent nearly 20 percent of the U.S. population, a number that will grow to 28 percent by 2060. This year, their buying power will hit $1.7 trillion.

English fluency is always increasing among Hispanics, but Amazon’s decision to serve them with Spanish online experiences is super smart. Nearly 75 percent of these shoppers still speak Spanish at home, and nearly all insist it’s important for future generations to speak Spanish, too.

To reach these consumers in meaningful ways and build brand trust, Amazon — and businesses like yours — must consider both the linguistic and cultural relevance of key messages. If done correctly, being bold will pay off for your brand, and you will see significant gains among this market — much like Amazon undoubtedly will.

By adding Spanish to its U.S. website, Amazon will empower more than 40 million native Spanish speakers in the States — and more than 10 million bilingual Spanish speakers — to switch their online experience between English and Spanish at will. That’s a big deal. Even among bilingual Hispanics, language connects people in powerful, persuasive ways. It’s one of the best means to build customer trust and streamlines the transactional experience.

The wisdom of Amazon’s move becomes even clearer when you examine how Hispanic consumers shop on the web. Google research identifies Hispanics as “power users” of mobile devices, and with good reason. They’re on their smartphones 25 percent more per week than the national average. Nearly half prefer accessing the web via their mobile devices. They shop on their phones more than any other ethnic group in the U.S., too. Most Hispanics are buying more online than they were a year ago.

... The company’s unmatched mobile presence — and now the addition of Spanish to its U.S. website — will undoubtedly help it reach the Hispanic market, and further grow market share.

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