Target CEO concerned over decrease in Hispanic shoppers

By

Rebecca Taras

Published
Jul 21, 2017

Referencing data from research firm NPD Group that the purchasing power of Hispanic shoppers has dropped eight percent this year, Target CEO Brian Cornell is expressing concern that the decline of retail activity from this key demographic is likely to hurt retailers across the board.

At the Fortune Brainstorm Tech event in Aspen, Colorado earlier this week, Cornell stated that more U.S. Hispanic shoppers are staying home more and spending less— the Minneapolis-based company has already felt the effects of this drop-off.

“The Hispanic consumer in the U.S. is shopping much less,” Cornell said. “They are staying home. They are going out less often.”

While an analyst at NPD Group said there has been a retail spending “pullback” from the Hispanic community since Trump has been in office due to deportation concerns, Cornell only made generalizations about how retailers in “border towns” have been affected.

Interestingly enough, the U.S. Hispanic population has significantly increased over the past decade, hence the reason why there is so much concern about the buying habits of this in-demand demographic. Target was ahead of the game two years ago when it launched a campaign geared towards Hispanic population, called Sin Traduccion. J.C. Penny Co. is another example of a retailer that jumped on the targeted Hispanic bandwagon that makes up approximately 20 percent of the population.

Data from NPD shows that apparel, shoes (especially in the teen sector) and accessories channels are hurting while food and small appliances haven’t been affected. The fact that U.S. consumer spending and low employment is at an increase right now as a whole makes the decline in Hispanic spending a tough pill to swallow for the suffering retail industry.