Political and legal currents are softening U.S. Hispanic consumers’ confidence and changing their behaviors. They are shopping less in person and more online, and have pivoted to new brands and retail stores in response to firms pulling back on diversity initiatives, according to Forbes senior contributor Janice Gassam Asare.
Anxieties around deportation are causing shifts, too. Among U.S. Hispanic adults, 42% say they worry that they or a loved one—regardless of their legal status—could be deported. This is what a Pew Research Center survey of U.S. adults conducted between February 24 and March 2, 2025, found. No other demographic group has reported this level of anxiety.
All in all, Hispanic Consumer Sentiment Index dropped from 85.7 to 81.24 since the start of the year, according to the Florida Atlantic University survey conducted from April 1 to June 30, 2025.
With this demographic projected to spend $2.8 trillion in 2026, according to eMarketer, CEOs must reassess how they can stay culturally attuned and responsive to shifts in Hispanic consumer sentiment, both in the short and long term.
Here are 3 talent implications—and what CEOs can do in today’s polarized climate.
Assess Hispanic Talent Pool
How are you ensuring that deep understanding and knowledge of this market is embedded in key organizational roles and strategic decision-making teams? Representational gaps could be strategically costly: they can limit an organization’s access to relevant information in strategic thinking and corporate oversight.
Hispanics hold fewer than 10% of advertising and marketing professional roles, according to the Association of National Advertisers’ Diversity Report. They hold only 6% of corporate board seats. In contrast, they represent 19% of the U.S. population, a number projected to reach 27% by 2060, per the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2023 National Population Projections.
Knowledge developed through data analytics and cultural training only goes so far. But leaders who are psychologically or culturally close to a community tend to feel more moral responsibility toward it. Hispanic representation in decision-making roles ensures products and strategies are developed authentically and responsibly.
Firms can bake community knowledge into strategy. Mattel and REI co-design with identity-group employees and partners to shape products and marketing strategies while boosting belonging, as Forbes highlighted. Hispanic professionals in strategic roles can similarly surface insights that drive innovation and ensure cultural relevance across products and campaigns.
Develop Hispanic Market Risk Assessment Capabilities
What is your organization’s capacity to anticipate and adapt to shifts in the political, business and economic context that are affecting your Hispanic constituents?
Brands and retailers that scaled back diversity initiatives saw Hispanic consumers redirect their spending to competitors, according to Forbes’ column of Target’s boycott fallout. Heightened deportation concerns track with a significant shift from in-store to online shopping among the Hispanic population, according to analyses by global marketing data, analytics and consulting company Kantar.
IBM’s success with people with disabilities offers a classic example of how companies can leverage diversity to develop a durable edge both in market share and talent strategies.
Through its employee resource groups, the technology giant was able to spot regulatory trends around accessibility before laws fell into place in the early 90s. It adapted products ahead of competitors. As a result, IBM gained market share and became an employer of choice for people with disabilities.
Close Hispanic Representation Gaps With Mentoring
What are you doing now to retain Hispanic employees and ensure they are more appropriately represented in leadership and strategy roles going forward?
People from diverse demographic backgrounds have distinctive work experiences. Among Hispanic employees, 42% report being micromanaged at work—far more than any other demographic group—according to a Coqual survey of 2,385 U.S. professionals. They are also more likely to report receiving insufficient job-related support from their supervisors.
Hispanic employees don’t feel welcome in the workplace, especially in professions where they are underrepresented. For example, almost a third of Hispanic adults perceive scientific professions as “unwelcoming,” according to a 2021 Pew Research Center survey, in part due to their underrepresentation in science and engineering jobs.
Mentoring is one of the most effective talent strategies to counteract negative work experiences: it alleviates isolation, reduces turnover and improves performance, according to professors Frank Dobbin and Alexandra Kalev’s latest review of workplace diversity programs, published in Harvard Business Review.
Mentors can help people focus on performance, rather than worry about how they are perceived. At Bank of America, the Hispanic/Latino Organization for Leadership and Advancement employee resource group offered training for conveying executive presence to help high-performing employees break through stereotypes and be seen as leaders.
Access to positive role models can mitigate discouragement from being underrepresented, which reduces turnover. Mentoring forums like employee resource groups or affinity groups with ties to senior management amplify Hispanic employees’ ability to voice what they need to thrive at work.
ERGs also flag business opportunities and risks to senior management. At Cadence Bank, the Hispanic ERG and women’s ERG identified a community need and business development opportunity: supporting Latina micro-entrepreneurs with tools and resources created a pipeline of founders who might well turn to Cadence for their small business needs.
Organizations that truly understand Hispanic consumers, employees and communities are more likely to withstand demographic, political and legal headwinds. Inventorying Hispanic talent, building learning and adapt capabilities and investing into inclusive talent development are three critical first steps for short-term impact and long-term gains.