Hispanics in Southern Arizona are younger, more likely to own a smartphone, have more children and spend more on clothes and groceries than their non-Hispanic neighbors โ and their total purchasing power continues to grow.
All of this is according to a new report produced by the Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Telemundo that includes information from Pima, Cochise and Santa Cruz counties.
After previously being part of the DATOS report produced by the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the Tucson chamber wanted a clearer picture of what the Hispanic market looks like in Southern Arizona, said president Lea Mรกrquez-Peterson.
โThe entire report is Tucson area, so we really did not duplicate in terms of any state or national information, we really focused on our community,โ she said.
โDATOS is where you go for the statewide information, Pew Hispanic Research is where you go for the national data and we want to be the place you come to for Southern Arizona.โ
The 72-page report compiles data from a variety of sources to present what the Hispanic market is like in the region as a way for businesses to better serve and target the population, officials said.
Speaking before a group of about 300 people during the reportโs presentation Tuesday, Marc A. Rodriguez, immediate past chairman of the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, said Hispanics are not a threat to existing business but a market.
โOur nation continues to face unprecedented economic opportunities. The challenge is for American business, American corporations and the small business structure of this state and this country to understand the report thatโs at your table,โ Rodriguez said.
One of the biggest positives that came out of the report, officials noted, was data on the impressive amount of Hispanic purchasing power in the Tucson area, which is expected to almost double to $14 billion over the next 10 years.
For Mรกrquez-Peterson, the report also confirmed the increasing number of Hispanic business owners in the region.
โIโm always talking about the fast-growing Hispanic-owned businesses and I think a lot of us knew anecdotally, but to see the data, the 34 percent increase from one year to the next โฆ wow,โ she said.
But not everything in the report is good news. While Hispanics continue to grow in power as a consumer bloc, the high school dropout rate in Pima County is above the state average and voting among Hispanics is substantially below that of non-Hispanics.
โWe have a dismal turnout in Arizona. Though our numbers increase we are not increasing in political influence and itโs in many cases our own fault,โ Mรกrquez-Peterson said.
Rodriguez underscored the importance of Hispanics being politically and economically involved.
โThose people that are committed to the demographic of the new economy, they have to do two things: They have to vote and go see their banker,โ he said.
Chamber officials said the report was not meant to sit on the shelf and that there would be future presentations in Douglas, Sierra Vista and Nogales. There are also plans to present the market outlook across the border for Mexican businesses interested in targeting Latino consumers in Arizona.
A quick look at some of the research presented in the Hispanic Market Outlook report produced by the Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Telemundo Tucson.
