Are you a web worker whose business involves web sites? If so, how often do you think about Hispanic consumers? According to a recent report from Forrester Research, this segment of the population is 44.3 million strong — 15% of the United States as a whole — and 49% are online.
Analyst Tamara Barber shares some interesting data. For example, according to recent survey work done by the firm, Hispanics outpace non-Hispanics on adopting advanced mobile phone features. She observes that “even Spanish-dominant mobile phone owners top non-Hispanics” on media and messaging capabilities. They’re more likely than non-Hispanics to have mobile phones with built-in cameras, the ability to play video, the ability to play music, the ability to access the Internet, to send and receive pictures messages and send and receive email. The chart below lays out some details.
Source: Forrester Research, Inc. (c) 2007 Forrester Research, Inc.
The language and cultural aspects of Hispanic consumers define a unique set of needs they have. For example, language dominance at home is a major influence on behavior in the area of technology adoption and usage. Since 61% of Hispanic adults speak primarily Spanish in the home and another 16% are bilingual, ignoring the Spanish language aspects of your Web planning means you’ll be “missing or frustrating” 77% of this market.
Online Hispanics actually consume digital media more voraciously in some categories than online non-Hispanics. That includes messaging, listening to Internet radio or streaming audio, downloading music, using social networking sites, downloading video and publishing web pages. And Hispanics who prefer Spanish online actually make up 51% of this Hispanic online audience.
Barber writes: “Companies claim to be serious about their Hispanic customers, but most fail to serve them well online.” She offers three steps to evaluate your opportunity for reaching online Hispanics:
- Size your market for online Spanish-preferring consumers.
- Master new customer profiles.
- Commit to a multi-channel Spanish-language service.
As she concludes, “This opportunity will only expand as this fast-growing consumer segment comes online.”

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