Match Made In Heaven: Social Buying And Latinos
Groupon is a social buying company that has been growing by leaps and bounds over the past year and an interesting report this week makes the case that social buying will become especially lucrative for Latino customers.Groupon started in November of 2008 in Chicago and offers its services in U.S. cities across the country, but also in Vancouver, Toronto, London and elsewhere. Basically, Groupon offers one daily deal in each city and if enough people sign up, the deal makes; it’s called social buying because it involves people getting their friends to get in on the deal (using social media, for example) so they can get the discount at a restaurant, spa, gym, hotel, etc.
Groupon takes a percentage of each deal, customers get discounts, businesses get more business and everyone seems to win. In a blog from Being Latino, Carlos Macías notes that Latinos stand to gain both as business owners and customers. Here’s why:
1. Economic growth is led by Latinos: According to the U.S. Census Bureau, “the number of Hispanic-owned businesses in the United States increased by 43.7 percent to 2.3 million, more than twice the national rate of 18.0 percent between 2002 and 2007.” Like most immigrants, Latinos are natural entrepreneurs.
2. Social media is dominated by Latinos: The Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project determined that 18 percent of Latinos use Twitter compared to 13 percent of Blacks and 5 percent of Whites. Also, Latinos are closing the gap on Internet usage. Just ask Being Latino or Latinos in Social Media (Latism) for some traffic data. Your jaw may drop.
3. Purchasing power: A recent report from the Selig Center for Economic Growthat the University of Georgia Terry College of Business says that despite the recession, the Latino market is expected to grow 50 percent, from $1 trillion in 2010 up to $1.5 trillion in 2015. We are working and spending, a lot!
4. Acculturation levels: The old notion that Spanish is the only language to connect with Latinos in the United States has been debunked. A white paper from comScore says that 70 percent of Latinos prefer to surf the Internet in English. Companies like Groupon just need a little seasoning on cultural intelligence and voila! This could be one of the best business opportunities of the decade.
5. Mobile Internet is also our turf: Sharing the top spot with Blacks, English-speaking Latinos are “the most active users of the mobile web.” So far, we text, take pictures, and access the Internet, among other things. The next frontier? Shopping online using our smartphones.
