66 • November / December 2026• abasto.com • Continues on page 68 Tighter Stores, Stronger Year I f 2026 taught Hispanic retailers anything, it is that growth can no lon- ger be taken for granted. The funda- mentals still favor our channel. But 2027 will reward operators who run tighter sto- res, not just busier ones. Every Trip Counts Circana projects U.S. food and beverage sales will grow 2% to 3% in 2027. Most of that growth comes from price and mix while volume stays flat. Market share has to be earned one basket at a time. SNAP adds another layer. As of October 1, the federal government covers 25% of the program’s cost, down from 50%. The 2025 A 2027 Playbook for Hispanic Retailers BY RON MARGULIS budget law also shifts more costs to states in the years ahead. Expect some states to tigh- ten enrollment. That will squeeze the very households many of the stores serve. Hispanic neighborhoods also face pres- sure the general market does not. Che- draui reported that second-quarter sa- me-store sales at El Super and Fiesta Mart fell 2.3%. Management pointed to immi- gration enforcement, higher fuel prices, and reduced SNAP benefits. Independents are feeling the same chill. Yet the long-term story remains strong. Hispanic buying power is projected at $2.8 trillion in 2026 and is growing faster than the overall market. PDG Insights found that more than 30% of Latino consumers shopped a supermercado or bodega in the past year, up from 26% in 2024. Even be- tter, as I’ve written in previous columns, 60% of general-market shoppers under 45 say they would shop a Latino grocer more often if one were closer. • FOOD INDUSTRY