Question

Hispanics have become an influential and desirable market due to their population growth rate and their purchasing power potential. The estimated purchasing power of Hispanics this year was estimated at $704 billion. This purchasing power represents substantial opportunity for marketers, especially for those depending on sales growth.Corporations are changing their sales and distribution strategies in order to specifically target this market segment. According to the DirectMarketing Association (DMA), the paper catalog is still the largest revenue generator; 50% of sales among all channels used by companies that sell goods to consumers and businesses from a remote location.

L.L. Bean has been a traditional catalog/online seller among the U.S. general market. They now seek to extend their market by penetrating the Hispanic sub-segment. DMA research suggests there is a consistent growth in the Hispanic market segment. However, reaching the Hispanic market segment has its challenges. L.L. Bean needs to decide whether to send their catalog to Hispanic households in English or Spanish. Therefore, they need to determine Hispanic consumers’ language preferences when shopping at a distance, (via mail, telemarketing, catalog, online) in an effort to improve direct selling specially catered for the Hispanic market segment. To address this issue, L.L. Bean hired a
marketing research company to provide the information needed to make the decision. In order to describe the language preferences of Hispanics a sample of 400 Hispanic consumers was randomly selected from a phone data bank; surveys were conducted by telephone in English or Spanish according to the respondents’ preferences. The researchers included following variable in the survey: Catalog Language Preference (1 = English, 2 =Spanish).

After the data were collected the researchers summarized the sample data. Below are two data tables from the survey
results.

QB. If you received a clothing catalog in the mail that was written in Spanish, how likely would you be to open it?
Extremely likely 5%
Very likely 10%
Somewhat likely 25%
Not very likely 45%
Not at all likely 15%

QC. If you received a clothing catalog in the mail that was written in English, how likely would you be to open it?
Extremely likely 25%
Very likely 47%
Somewhat likely 15%
Not very likely 10%
Not at all likely 3%

9. Refer to QB and QC. What is the central tendency for those likely to open the catalog written in Spanish?
a. 10% - Very likely
b. 25% - Somewhat likely
c. 45% - Not very likely
d. 15% - not at all likely

Answer 1

The central tendency, or most common response, for the willingness of Hispanic consumers to open a Spanish-written catalog is 'Not very likely,' which accounts for 45% of the responses in the survey.

Step-by-step explanation:

The central tendency for those likely to open the catalog written in Spanish is best represented by the option with the highest percentage of responses. In the survey, 45% of the respondents indicated they are 'Not very likely' to open a catalog written in Spanish, suggesting that this is the most common sentiment held by the Hispanic consumers in the scenario provided.

Considering the purchasing power of Hispanic consumers and the importance of catering to this market segment, L.L. Bean and other companies face challenges in language preferences for direct selling. As seen in various marketing approaches, adopting bilingual strategies is crucial as bilingualism becomes more common in commercial settings due to the diverse linguistic capabilities of Hispanic consumers.