Scarborough Looks At 'Net Use Among U.S. Hispanics
NEW YORK -- March 19, 2009: Scarborough Research has just released a new report on "The Power of the Hispanic Consumer Online," showing that 54 percent of U.S. Hispanics are now online, compared to 69 percent of total adults. But Internet access has been growing faster among Hispanics -- up 13 percent since 2004, compared to 8 percent for U.S. adults overall.
As might be expected, 18-34-year-old Hispanics are more likely to access the Internet than Hispanics overall, and their rate of access is growing faster -- now at 60 percent.
For the study, Scarborough looked at 13 local markets with a high concentration of Hispanic adults: Chicago; Dallas; El Paso; Fresno; Harlingen, TX; Houston; Los Angeles; Miami; New York; Phoenix; Sacramento; San Antonio; and San Francisco. The rate of Internet access is growing fastest in Phoenix and slowest in San Francisco.
Broadband access among Hispanics, Scarborough says, has grown "exponentially" since 2000, with the rate of adoption mirroring that of the total U.S. population: Sixty-eight percent of Hispanic Internet users now have broadband, compared to 71 percent of U.S. Internet users overall.
Breaking it out by market, Miami leads in broadband penetration among Hispanic Internet users, with 76 percent, followed by San Francisco, at 75 percent, and New York, at 72 percent. On the low end are Dallas, at 54 percent, Fresno, 52 percent, and Harlingen, at 48 percent.
Forty-two percent of Hispanic Internet users have downloaded some kind of digital content -- music, podcasts, video games -- in the past month, compared to 35 percent of all Internet users -- and they're 21 percent more likely to download than the average adult online.
Music is the most popular download, with 32 percent of Hispanic users having downloaded music in the last month, while 11 percent downloaded audio clips. In video, 9 percent downloaded movies, 8 percent downloaded TV programs, and 17 percent other video. Three percent downloaded podcasts, and 6 percent downloaded video games.
"Downloads just might be the manner in which Hispanics are attaining and interacting with certain brands for the first time," says Scarborough digital analyst Guy Meo. "For example, downloading may be a preferred method to receive media content, including local and national news. This is exemplary of a larger phenomena occurring across the youth culture, as people in younger age brackets go online for content typically associated with more 'traditional' media, such as movies or television. Media content providers and marketers have an opportunity to leverage downloading habits and create content that engages Hispanic consumers online."
Sixty-two percent of Hispanic Internet users have bought something online in the last year, with the mean amount spent annually $762. That's compared to 70 percent of Internet users nationally who've bought something online, spending a mean amount of $861.
Hispanics are more likely than the typical adult to have a cellphone, and they're in the top spending bracket for cellular usage. Says Scarborough, "Hispanics have been at the forefront of using the expanded functionality and technology in cellular devices, such as picture-taking, text messaging, and downloading ringtones or games. They are also more likely to use cellphones for tasks such as e-mail or utilizing other Internet features."
Meo says, "It is clear that the mobile device is an important point of Internet entry for Hispanics. As devices get increasingly sophisticated, we expect this pattern of multifaceted usage to increase."
Also, Scarborough found hat Hispanic Internet users have higher household incomes than the total Hispanic population, with half having an annual household income of $50,000 or more. The average household income of a Hispanic Internet user is $67,000, compared to $54,000 for all Hispanics. They're also more likely to have a college degree or higher and to be employed full- or part-time. Also, 57 percent of adult Hispanic Internet users are under 35 vs. 35 percent of total Internet users.
"Marketers today recognize that the Internet is an efficient way to target young people," Meo said. "But the youth factor is accentuated among Hispanics, so the Internet becomes even more of an important component of a Hispanic marketing strategy. Marketing circles deem the young, ethnic, and higher-income target as highly desirable but often elusive. Scarborough data shows that the Internet is the place where this target engages."
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