How to Advertise to Hispanics During the Holidays
Marketers must be overstuffed with the holiday season by now, but what if I told you the festivities continue throughout Latin America?
Furthermore, for many Latin Americans, this time of year has nothing to do with snow-filled landscapes, hot beverages, or stuffy sweaters, for it’s the summer season!
In some ways, Latin Americans engage the holiday shopping season much like their American neighbors, yet successful LATAM marketing campaigns must tailor efforts in a more localized fashion.
Therefore, here’s handy information about marketing to Latin American consumers during the holiday season:
Hispanic Holiday Shopping Season
Some Americans unwrap a gift or two on Christmas Eve, but this is typical in Latin American countries, for December 24 is Noche Buena. Families gather for religious services, eat massive meals, and exchange gifts on this date versus December 25.
While December 25 is THE day for gift giving in America, the custom typically ends there. In Latin America, the giving continues, extending into the new year.
El Dia de los Reyes Magos (Three Kings Day) is THE day for gifts in Latin America, but it’s celebrated in January. Three Kings Days is observed on January 6, providing marketers with the incentive to maintain interest in LATAM markets into next year.
Actually, marketers can benefit from acknowledging the following Hispanic holidays :
- Jan. 6th: Día de Reyes (celebrated by many LATAM countries)
- Oct. 18th/throughout the month of October: Señor de Los Milagros (Peru)
- December 8th: La Inmaculada Concepción de María (Nicaragua)
- Dec.16th-24th: Las Posadas (Mexico/Central America)
- December 25th: La Navidad (multiple countries)
- December 28th: Día de los Inocentes (multiple countries)
- Dec. 31st: La noche de Fin de Año (multiple countries)
Don’t make the mistake of associating heavy sweaters and hot chocolate with the Latin American holiday season. Depending on location and weather patterns, it could be “unseasonably” warm during the holidays for LATAM consumers versus those celebrating in most American states.
Gathering with family and enjoying food is tremendously important to Latin Americans. 21% of respondents of a holiday shopping survey admitted that Christmas dinner was their first concern versus presents.
Further Reading:
Let’s take a look at some individual Latin American countries:
How to Advertise to Hispanics – Argentina
Argentina loves its food, gifts, and Christmas trees. Food and beverage brands reap the benefits of Argentinian customs and holiday preferences.
Argentinians pay attention to style. In 2019, the average Argentinean spent nine-thousand pesos on trees and decor. However, Argentinians prefer artificial trees over natural ones.
How to Advertise to Hispanics – Brazil
In 2019, fashion and accessories accounted for the majority of online sales in the region. This year, 70% want to give clothes and/or shoes to friends and family members, and 11% plan to give jewelry as presents.
Interestingly, Brazilians enjoy a “thirteenth paycheck,” at the end of year, giving extra padding to the wallets of holiday spenders.
It has been estimated that m-commerce sales generated 12 billion U.S. dollars in revenue in Brazil in 2019 and would generate over twice as much by 2023.
How to Advertise to Hispanics – Chile
During a survey carried out in November 2020 in Chile, nearly 73% stated they intended to buy Christmas gifts.
On the other hand, 21.3 percent of the respondents said that they would not give any Christmas presents.
How to Advertise to Hispanics – Mexico
Holiday tradition relies heavily on friends and family in Mexico. A 2020 survey found 90% plan to celebrate the Christmas holiday at home with family. As mentioned, dinner is huge, being the most important of the holiday elements mentioned.
In the past, the largest share of holiday spending in Mexico was devoted to food and beverages despite this year’s preferences.
How to Advertise to Hispanics – Colombia
Christmas season comes early for Colombians, those who celebrate The Day of the Little Candles in early December. However, 60% of Colombians said they would start 2020 holiday shopping well before December.
Like Brazilians, Colombians love fashion and accessories, the most popular of presents. This year, more Colombians plan to do holiday shopping online due to Covid. 44% prefer to order toys and books online and have them delivered at home.
Further Reading:
Christmas bonus, known as “La Prima,” is an additional salary paid in two terms. The first half before June 20th and the second half is paid before December 20th.
How would Colombians use their Christmas bonus?
- 24% would use the Christmas bonus to pay debts
- 14% would use it for gifts
- 12% would use it for clothing
How to Advertise to Hispanics – Peru
According to a December 2019 survey, 42% of Peruvian respondents stated they most often gave clothing as Christmas gifts.
Toys ranked second at 56%. Moreover, in Peru, the mobile commerce revenue is expected to triple to $3 billion by 2023.
Tips for Marketing to Hispanics During the Holidays
Consider Seasonality
One of the most striking differences in marketing to Americans versus Latin Americans during the holidays is the weather. While most of America can relate to snowballs, heavy sweaters, and wishes for a white Christmas, those in Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, and beyond, bask in the rays of summer.
Americans may flock to southern beach destinations for a quick stint during the holidays, but for some LATAM countries, this time of year sparks the start of summer vacation, making local and regional destinations hot spots for family vacations.
Plan Shipping
In 2019, there were 343 million mobile internet users in Latin America. The number is expected to increase to 424 million by 2025. Meanwhile, smartphone penetration rate is projected to increase to 79%. This is incredible news for global brands wanting to sell to LATAM consumers, yet effective and timely shipping remains a holiday-related issue.
During Latin America’s holiday period, businesses (including postal services), reduce personnel and adopt shortened office hours. In short, delivery takes longer. Generally speaking, shipping and related logistics remains a centralized problem in LATAM.
According to the World Bank, Latin America’s logistics lags behind the world average and the U.S.’s score. The Logistics Performance Index takes into account the customs processes, the quality and competency of the logistics infrastructure, and other measures.
Leverage Localized Content
Most Spanish SEO efforts rooted in basic translation fail. It could be tempting to use a general approach toward marketing to LATAM markets, but localized efforts prove most successful.
Partner with marketing teams that have a regional and local understanding of consumers in Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, and other countries throughout LATAM. Translating web content into Spanish is not entirely effective.
Invest in localizing Spanish SEO efforts that resonate in each country, providing a better ROI when it comes to marketing dollars.
Further Reading:
Embrace Payment Flexibility
More payment options means more customers to accommodate and convert. Payment flexibility sells in LATAM.
Even before the pandemic, LATAM consumers embraced brands allowing multiple options for payment:
-credit cards (most typical method for online purchases)
-local cards (*that each LATAM country accepts)
-debit cards -cash vouchers (popular in Brazil and Mexico)
43% of surveyed consumers mention the option to pay in many ways influences purchase decisions. 30% want the option to pay in installments.
Latin American shoppers champion payment flexibility. The ability to use debit cards is popular as well as digital wallets like Mercado Pago, PayPal, PicPay, and Nequi.
According to a Latin American holiday shopping survey:
- 34% of Latin Americans preferred the debit card when going Christmas shopping
- Cash was the second favored payment method among respondents, at 28%
- 23% said that they plan to use a credit card during the Christmas season
Flexibility of budget is important to Latin American shoppers, and having the ability to spread payments over time can be the deciding factor between making a holiday purchase or not.
Other LATAM holiday shopping components to consider:
- Focus on price discounts
- Create promotions and ads in your target audience’s language
- Mix-in paid advertising
- Feature specific products for each customer base
- Update offers based on performance
Further Reading:
Contact Altura to be your marketing liaison, ensuring your brand content translates and resonates throughout individual LATAM countries. While some translate your marketing material, our localized approach is much more comprehensive and effective.
Let’s talk about Spanish SEO, Hispanic content marketing, and leveraging PPC and social media channels for optimal success.
