Study compares online behavior of Blacks, Hispanics and general market

(June 3, 2008) A new study from Synovate compared online behavior such as shopping, social networking, online banking, and visiting the on-demand video site YouTube among Hispanics, African Americans, and the general market, and found some striking differences.

Among Hispanics, Synovate found some gender disparity in visiting social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook, with just 18 percent of women reporting a recent visit to such a site, compared to 27 percent of men. There was no such gender divide seen among general market and African-American consumers.

Additionally, in the general market, one in four consumers has visited YouTube in the past six months, and the figure is the same for Hispanic and African-American consumers. But among Hispanics, just 20 percent of 18+ women had visited the site, compared to 41 percent of men. Among African Americans, where 55 percent of men had visited YouTube, compared to 33 percent of women. In the general market, men and women are equally likely to have visited the video site.

Synovate also saw some disparity in online shopping, with 25 percent of Hispanics having made a recent purchase online, compared to 42 percent of African Americans and 57 percent of general market consumers.

"For many multicultural consumers, Internet usage is about connecting with friends and family, and to keep up on the latest trends and news," said Synovate VP/Diversity Research Denise Marks. "As more Hispanics and African Americans spend time online, marketing efforts should be directed towards building trust among these consumers to help them feel comfortable about online commercial transactions."

A divide was also seen in online banking, where 24 percent of Hispanics reporting having paid bills online recently, compared to 38 percent of general market consumers and 34 percent of African Americans. Synovate says that may reflect lower levels of Internet access among Hispanics: Fifty-five percent of Hispanics have Internet access at home, work, school, or elsewhere -- substantially lower than the 80 percent figure for both African Americans and the general market.

Additionally, Synovate found that Hispanics who speak Spanish at home all or most of the time are much less likely to spend time online than those who are bilingual or English-dominant, and those who speak English at least as much as Spanish are much more likely to make purchases online or engage in social networking.

Marks said, "Although Internet access is steadily increasing among Hispanics, basic necessities still come first for many in this group, the majority of whom are immigrants. Buying a computer is not always at the top of their shopping list, especially with the current jump in food and gas prices."

For more information on Synovate's 2008 U.S. Diversity Markets Report, with data on buying power, language use profiles, and media, product, and service usage information for Hispanics, African-Americans and Asian-Americans, visit synovate.com/knowledge/publications/#diversity2008.


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