AMAZON NEW SPANISH WEBSITE TARGETS MILLIONS OF HISPANICS SHOPPERS
More than 40 million Hispanics who live in the United States and continue to use Spanish as their first language are a valuable market that Amazon wants to conquer. That is why, for the first time since launching 20 years ago, Amazon.com decided to create the Spanish option for its website.
The online publication CNET reported that the change comes as the world’s largest e-retailer looks to attract growing Spanish-speaking audiences and 11 million bilingual residents in both the US and Mexico.
Abasto contacted an Amazon spokesperson to learn about the reaction of Hispanic consumers in the United States to the launch of this new option in Spanish on their website.
“We’re excited by the response we’ve seen so far from customers and we’ll continue innovating on their behalf,” said the Amazon spokeswoman. “This new experience is making it easier than ever for them to shop, browse and search for millions of products, view their shopping cart, and place orders in Spanish on Amazon.com and through the Amazon Mobile Shopping app”.
The United States is the fifth-largest Spanish-speaking country in the world. The only countries with more native Spanish speakers are Mexico, Colombia, Spain and Argentina.
The company’s statement is clear: Marketing to Spanish-preferring online Hispanics makes good business sense, explained MediaPost, one of the most influential media, marketing and advertising online site.
As a data-driven, consumer-first company, they undoubtedly assessed the Spanish-language e-commerce opportunity rigorously, said MediaPost, and likely found that there is a critical mass of highly engaged online shoppers who prefer Spanish.
The spokeswoman explained to Abasto that they are always working on behalf of customers “to make shopping on Amazon as easy as possible. We’re excited to offer a more convenient shopping experience – featuring the same selection – for U.S. Spanish-speaking customers”.
AMAZON OPENS THE DOOR TO A NEW ERA FOR THE E-COMMERCE IN THE HISPANIC MARKET
A recent IRI study found that “Hispanics tend to shop online more than non-Hispanics in several critical categories, including cosmetics, fragrances and beauty, and general household products.” IRI is a market research company which provides clients with consumer, shopper, and retail market intelligence and analysis.
MediaPost analysis considers Amazon’s move to proactively market to Spanish-preferring Hispanics will trigger an e-commerce renaissance in the Hispanic market.
E-commerce players large and small will rush to develop and execute Spanish strategies to reach Spanish-preferring Hispanics and manufacturers will move to market and merchandise their products to this segment via the digital shelf.
About the competition between the Seattle-based online retailer and Walmart to win the preferences of online shoppers, the Amazon spokeswoman replied to Abasto that they are not focused on other companies, because they’re focused on customers. “We’re excited to begin offering the Amazon.com shopping experience in Spanish to our customers”.
The new Spanish-language version comes in addition to Amazon.com.mx, which is the Mexico-based website that’s already available in Spanish, and Amazon.es, the Spain-based version of the site.
