More and more Latinos are going online for their holiday shopping to avoid Black Friday crowds
Latinos make up 12 percent of the U.S. online market and are expected to spend approximately $6.5 billion online this holiday season, which makes them a wise target for marketers.
Holiday shoppers will spend an estimated $54 billion this holiday season and Latino spending will constitute a large chunk of that, according to a recent article at HispanicOnlineMarketing.com.
A recent report from the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) found that 46 percent of Latinos ages 18 and older regularly shop online, compared to 43 percent of other online users. Forty-eight percent of Latinos research online before they buy, compared to 40 percent of general users.
Percent of Latinos who researched a given category online, compared to the general market:
- Electronics: 52% vs. 45%
- Apparel: 45% vs. 39%
- Shoes: 33% vs. 28%
- Appliances: 31% vs. 28%
Latinos are more likely than other online shoppers to seek advice from social sites about what they’re about to buy. Here is how Latinos seek purchase advice compared to the general market:
- Face-to-Face: 75% vs. 79%
- Product Reviews: 35% vs. 34%
- Email: 25% vs. 26%
- Text: 24% vs. 21%
- Mobile Device: 23% vs. 21%
- Facebook: 20% vs. 18%
- Blogs: 16% vs. 13%
Most marketing seems to miss the opportunity to connect with Latino shoppers. Some, like Best Buy and Sears, offer a Spanish version of their websites. The Sears Latino Facebook page has 110,000 followers and a Twitter account with more than 4,000 followers.