EthnicMajority

(Houston Chronicle) Retail industry leaders are seeking better ways to lure the Latino dollar as Hispanic purchasing power grows apace.

More than 400 retail industry leaders gathered at a conference held by the International Council of Shopping Centers this week in San Antonio to learn how to tap into the growing Hispanic consumer base.

ICSC Chairman David Henry said major retailers, shopping center developers and investors historically have not appreciated the purchasing power of Latinos.

"Landlords and other developers have ignored this at their own peril, but that is starting to change," Henry said. "There are over 400 people at this event today, and that is testimony that this is on everybody's radar screen."

There are obstacles for retail industry leaders wishing to invest in Hispanic communities, said Arturo Sneider, the event's primary organizer. Among them is uncertainty about immigration laws.

"People were afraid for a long time that there would be a change in immigration policy after investing millions of dollars into Latino communities," Sneider said.

In Arizona, for example, the Perryman Group, a Waco-based financial analysis firm, has estimated the state would suffer a $26.4 billion loss in economic activity if all undocumented immigrants were removed from the state.

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(The Wrap) When Comcast was angling to take over NBCU, the cable giant promised prominently to increase the profile of minorities at the company and launch eight independent cable networks, including four under African-American control.

That includes a recent disastrous meeting between Comcast executives and Oprah Winfrey, in which Comcast executives rebuffed the media queen's request for support for her OWN network.

Leading entrepreneur Russell Simmons was rebuffed when he approached NBCU CEO Steve Burke about acquiring the Style network.

The National Urban League, NAACP and Al Sharpton's National Action Network, major civil rights groups, see several trouble spots with their efforts to work with Comcast, TheWrap has learned.

NBCU, for example, has yet to fill the post of chief diversity officer. It has been vacant since Paula Madison, executive vice president, retired in May.

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(Los Angeles TImes) Goodbye, metrosexual, and hola, vanidoso.

Increasingly, growth in the men's grooming arena will be driven by the personal care habits of Latinos. That's the takeaway from a recent study focusing on the grooming preferences of Latino men in the United States and Census Bureau figures that show the Hispanic population growing at a faster rate than the general population.

"That demographic is really driving population growth," said Peter Filiaci, vice president of brand solutions for Univision, the Spanish-language network that commissioned the grooming study. "Especially in the coveted 18 to 49 demographic, where one out of every five guys in the country right now is Hispanic."

Filiaci said that while past Univision studies have focused on understanding the purchasing power and buying habits of Latinas, the impetus for delving deeper into the grooming habits of their male counterparts came when traditionally female-oriented personal care brands started moving into the men's space. "We saw increased activity – like Dove launching its Men+Care line – and decided we wanted to understand the Latino guy," he said.

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(Fast Company) In California, Latinos and African-Americans simply are not buying electric cars. It's time for some new marketing.

The Prius is an emblem of the environmentally aware upper middle class, and at this point, electric vehicle purchases are mostly limited to early adopters who have the cash to experiment with an entirely new kind of vehicle. And according to a report (PDF) from the Greenlining Institute, cost and lack of consumer education may shut low-income communities and communities of color (specifically in California) out of the electric vehicle revolution–even though these communities are in dire need of the cleaner air that comes along with having fewer gasoline-fueled cars on the road.

The report presents a number of obvious yet unsettling statistics: 70% of hybrid owners in California are white, even though Californians of color are more concerned about air pollution than whites; 20% of hybrid owners are Latino and even fewer are African-American–even though the overall state population is 60% non-white. An impressive 92% of residents who buy EVs in the state have an income of $75,000 or higher.

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(Consumer Reports) The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating allegations that Wells Fargo discriminated against African American borrowers, according to news reports. The allegations assert that the bank directed African-American borrowers to high-interest, subprime mortgages.

The DOJ is preparing a lawsuit against the bank, which is negotiating a settlement to avoid a public lawsuit, according to the Huffington Post. In a statement to the Huffington Post, Wells Fargo said it practiced responsible lending. "We have a very strong commitment to serving all customers along the credit spectrum, and we do so without bias."

The DOJ's investigation echoes a suit filed by the city of Baltimore against the bank, accusing it of targeting predominantly black neighborhoods with bad loans. Wells Fargo has denied the allegations.

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(Huffington Post) Wealth disparities between white households and black and Hispanic households are greater than they’ve been in the past 25 years, a new study from the Pew Research Center has found.

The report, released Tuesday, shows that median wealth declined by 66 percent among Hispanic households between 2005 and 2009. For black households during the same time period, median wealth fell by 53 percent, while white households experienced a decline of only 16 percent.

The changes in median wealth over the four-year period measured mean that as of 2009, the average black household had only $5,677 in wealth — that is, assets minus debts — and the average Hispanic household had only $6,325. The average white household had $113,149 in wealth — 18 times that of Hispanic households, and 20 times that of black households.

The Pew study is only the latest in a series of reports indicating that the recession took a greater economic toll on minorities than on whites. In 2009, the Center for American Progress examined the effects of the downturn on minority employment and earnings. They found that unemployment rates rose faster for blacks and Hispanics than for whites during 2008, and that median family income declined more for blacks and Hispanics than whites during the same time period.

A 2010 Congressional report found that the recession had hit especially hard in industries that employ a high percentage of Hispanics, like construction and manufacturing, and in parts of the country with large Hispanic communities, like California, Nevada and Florida.

That same year, a report from the National Urban League concluded that blacks and Hispanics were three times as likely as whites to live below the poverty line.

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(Ad Week) In addition to its 60-second anthem spot, Summer's Eve released three other videos this week featuring talking hand-puppet vaginas, as part of its new "Hail to the V" campaign. The campaign is meant to be about empowering women and rejuvenating the brand following last year's disastrous print ad telling women to douche before asking for a raise. But these three ads have created a new controversy, with some saying the voice work in the African American and Latina versions promotes racial stereotypes. The black woman is "Pam Grier and Lil' Kim all wrapped in to one," writes MoxieBird, while the Latina woman opens with the cry, "Ay-yi-yi." Everyone from Consumerist to the Daily News has weighed in on the withering critiques.

     Watch for yourself below and decide. The larger problem for Summer's Eve is that many women see douching products themselves, and any marketing of them, as anti-woman—i.e., creating a feeling of shame around the issue of cleanliness, then selling the antidote to the shame. Casting the process as female empowerment, it seems, is particularly galling. Given the hangover from last year's ad, the racial element of the new spots is just one more thing to get upset about, if you're already opposed to the brand.

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(Fashionista) Throw the stereotypes out the window. At least when it comes to teenagers and their shopping habits.

Asian American teens spend an average $140.97 per month on fashion, the most of any ethnic group, while white teenagers spend the least amount ($111.58). Latinos spend the most per trip–$98.20–while again, whites spend the least ($81.41).

That’s according to a new survey released by online market research Y Pulse, which taps its community of around 80,000 13 to 30 year olds to conduct surveys like this. The results of this particular report were drawn from 1,300 interviews with teenagers and college students conducted online between May 20 and May 30, 2011.

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(iMediaConnection) So what's all this hype about Latinos being the second-largest demographic in population and online consumption patterns in the U.S.? Does it make marketers salivate to plot online marketing campaigns for Latinos? And if so, why have efforts been so dismal? Assumption: Marketers think Latinos will make a purchase no matter who is selling the product; after all, they have to buy — stop right there. Bad assumption.

The 2011 IAB report "U.S. Latino Online: A Driving Force" found that more than half of U.S. Latinos prefer marketers to make a strong connection with their culture by relaying the message in this order of languages: Spanish, Spanglish, and then English.

The IAB also found that U.S. Latinos spend more time online than non-Hispanic whites, and that 61 percent of Hispanics made online purchases and spent an average of $746, which isn't far behind the total internet population at 72 percent, spending an average of $851.

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(AARP PRnewswire) AARP today announced the launch of its Spanish-language Retirement Calculator as part of its continued efforts to serve older Hispanics with resources that help them live their best lives and plan ahead for a secure retirement.

"With the launch last year of our bilingual Web site, Hispanics and Latinos 50+ have grown to expect high-quality content and trusted information from AARP," said Rocky Egusquiza, AARP Vice President of Multicultural Markets. "This calculator continues to build on that promise and gives our growing Hispanic audience another tool to plan for their retirement security for themselves and for their families."

A narrative, step-by-step design makes the AARP Retirement Calculator easy to use. Upon completion, users will be guided to a suite of additional AARP tools and resources – available at www.aarp.org/espanol/dinero – to learn more about Social Security, financial planning and other aspects of retirement.

Research has shown that using a tool like a retirement calculator can help people focus on the steps many need to take to get their financial lives in order. The AARP Retirement Calculator provides information users can use to evaluate their current situation and see potential pathways to their desired retirement goals.

"For many, the first step to a secure financial future includes assessing when they can retire and what is needed to do so," said Andres Castillo, senior advisor for Education and Outreach at AARP. "Whether an individual is starting at square one or needs to re-evaluate their original plans, the AARP Retirement Calculator is a tool that can help them determine where they stand and what they need to do next."

To try out the new Spanish-language AARP Retirement Calculator, visit www.aarp.org/calculadorajubilacion.

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