Adding much to the diversity of the Web audience, about 38 percent of
Hispanics in the U.S. who are 16 and older are using the Internet on a
regular basis, according to a new study from the Association of Hispanic Advertising
Agencies (AHAA).
The typical Hispanic Internet user, as defined by the study, is 28 years old,
slightly more likely to be male, and unmarried. Roughly half are
Spanish-language dominant (Speak Spanish at home more than English).
The study also revealed that Hispanics are online almost 5.5 hours per week
and for 71 percent of these users, primary usage is from a computer at home.
In addition to their time on the Net, typical Hispanic Internet users are
watching 18 hours of television per week (approximately 50 percent of it in
Spanish) and listening to 15 hours of radio (also half of it in Spanish) per
week.
Commissioned by the association, the study was conducted by Roslow Research
Group, a New York-based Hispanic research and consulting firm.
The intent of the survey was to provide a benchmark profile of the Hispanic
Internet user, the association said. Interviewing was randomly assigned
across six major Hispanic markets and included Hispanics 16 years or older
who have used the Internet in the past 30 days.
More than three quarters of respondents are using the Internet for e-mail, 60
percent are using it to get news, 54 percent are using it to listen to music
and 43 percent are using it to chat.
Almost one-third of these Hispanic Internet users have shopped online with
CDs, electronics and airline tickets topping the list as the most-common
items purchased.
“This new information is significant because it shows that Hispanics are
viable online consumers,” said AHAA President Daisy Exposito, who is also
president and chief creative officer at The Bravo Group.
“Hispanics are a
young, vibrant consumer audience that offers lots of opportunities to
corporations,” she said. “This research makes a clear business case that targeting
Hispanics with multimedia campaigns makes sense.”
The Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies is a national organization of
firms that specialize in marketing to the nation’s 32 million Hispanic
consumers.