Latinas Are Driving the Hispanic Online Market

¡Viva La Latina!

When it comes to the online Hispanic market, Latinas are in the driver’s seat. At least that’s the impression I got by reading “Latina Power Shift,” a new study by Nielsen that paints a crystal clear picture of the growing importance of Latinas in the U.S.

The study highlights the fact that Latinas are leaders in mobile and Internet technology, are driving purchase decisions in their households, and are passionate about preserving their heritage while embracing American culture.

80% of Latinas use the Internet to inform purchase decisions

Latinas are extremely digitally connected and view digital technology, including mobile, as critical extensions of their daily lives. She is a voracious user of social media and uses this medium to seek out friends and content to help her maintain her Hispanic culture. That said, her appetite for digital, social and mobile experiences is not being met as 62% of Latinas wish for more lifestyle information written for her.

Specifically she is seeking out digital content, in Spanish and English, across a myriad of topics including recipes and cooking, beauty, health, fashion, parenting and finance, and are increasingly using their mobile devices to find it.

77% of online Latinas have smartphones compared to 55% non-Hispanic whites and they use their mobile devices all the time. Compared the non-Hispanics whites, Latinas over-index across several mobile activities including:

• Video 218 Index
• Audio Streaming 216 Index
• Twitter 199 Index
• Banking 176 Index
• Mobile Shopping 156 Index
• Social Networking 141 Index
• APPS 133 Index

And Latinas are not just browsing online and on their phones, they are also buying and using the web to inform purchases. The study found that 81% of Latinas have purchased a product online and 69% have purchased a product in store after having conducted research online.

62% of Latinas follow brands online

The time is now for marketers to engage with Latinas online and through their mobile devices. Not only do they over-index in their usage of Internet, mobile technologies and digital brand engagement, they also represent 17% of U.S. females today and 23% of new moms who are in “acquisition mode for an array of household and family products.” In addition Latinas are making real strides in terms of income and educational attainment driving the $1.2 trillion that Hispanics spend on an annual basis.

¡Que Vivan Las Latinas!