National economic wellness and personal financial health are important to the U.S. Latino community.

Latinos are acutely aware of the way money flows in and out of markets, the way money fuels job security and the way money enables continued contribution the national economy. And that awareness has impacted the way Hispanic shoppers choose to spend their disposable income.

However, brand marketing also plays a decisive role in how Latinos spend their money. It's been said time and time again, the key to targeting Latinos, or any multicultural population, isn't just a matter of understanding what makes a group different than the general market, but what makes them similar to the general market. Brands and marketers must be cognizant about cultural fluency.

ThinkNow Research conducted a survey that asked Hispanic participants their thoughts on the U.S. economy and where they thought the economy was heading in the upcoming year. Forty-six percent of Latino respondents stated the economy would "be better," a conclusion that reflects levels of acculturation.

Nearly 50 percent of low- and medium-acculturated Hispanics reported "the economy will be better," while only 35 percent of highly acculturated U.S. Latinos were in agreement., according to the study. Non-acculturated Latinos' faith in economic improvement is so devout that their belief increased from 37 percent in 2014 to 46 percent this year. This shows that Latinos who are less engrossed in American culture are more optimistic about the U.S. economy.

Now, for the right marketer, this information is important. For the right marketer, this would indicate Spanish-dominant, less-acculturated Latinos have faith that the economy will improve, thusly are less afraid to spend their wages freely. Whereas those who are more acculturated will likely put more toward savings, since they don't trust overall economic improvement.

That same report questioned whether optimism for the national economy carried over to personal economics. Fifty-six percent of Hispanics said their finances would be better in 2015 than in 2014, a 10 percent increase over the year before. Levels of acculturation, again, had bearing, influencing opinion on personal finances. Forty-four percent of high-acculturated Latinos, 56 percent of low-acculturated Latinos and 62 percent of medium-acculturated Latinos expressed that their personal finances would improve in 2015.

So how are Latinos seeing acceleration, national economy and personal finances impacting the way that they spend in the upcoming year?

Well, according to the research, Latinos want to spend hard-earned bills on fairly big-ticket items in the new year. In fact, more than one-third of all Latinos intend to use disposable income on big utilities, real estate, car and/or other items. This is true of less-acculturated and thoroughly-acculturated Latinos, who collectively wield 1 trillion in purchasing power. And with that purchasing power in hand, these confident spenders encourage their own financial growth, as well as national economic growth.

Brand marketers selling big ticket items should take note: just because Latinos have decided to spend money on big ticket items, it doesn't mean that they've settled on buying the items that you're selling.

Latinos do a great deal of online research, and they live by product endorsements from friends and friend. To build a better relationship with Latino purchasers, be attractive to the Latino community. And to beckon Latinos, who are already poised to buy, start the seller-buyer relationship early, always be culturally competent and be present on social media -- because it's good for Latinos, it's good for business, and it's good for the economy.

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