Hispanic consumers are more social and mobile in their local shopping behaviors than non-Hispanic consumers, according to BIA/Kelsey’s Consumer Commerce Monitor™ survey.

When Hispanics shop locally they use social media more than non-Hispanic consumers; and when shopping they interact more with social media, 46% vs. 41% (in the last 6 months). Hispanic consumers’ rank Facebook, YouTube and Twitter as the most used social media sites. When they use social sites for local shopping, Hispanic consumers rank Facebook as their top source followed by YouTube and Google+.

Despite Hispanic consumers relying on social media and mobile devices while shopping locally, recommendations from friends and family still ranked as the most trustworthy source of information on local products and services (83%), followed by Facebook friends (56%).

According to the survey, Hispanic consumers are more likely to have adopted mobile devices and use them daily for shopping for local products and services than non-Hispanic consumers.
— Tablet: 23.6% Hispanics vs. 15.5% non-Hispanics
— Smartphone: 48.5% Hispanics vs 32% non-Hispanics

Hispanic consumers report using mobile devices when shopping for local products and services more frequently than non-Hispanic consumers. 52.5% of Hispanic consumers reported using a tablet daily for local shopping, and 42.5% reported using a smartphone. In contrast, 29% of non-Hispanics report using a tablet daily for local shopping and 38% use their smartphone. “One driving force for this overall result is the younger age distribution (in our sample and in the U.S. overall) of the Hispanic community, as compared to the non-Hispanic community,” said Dr. Mark Fratrik, BIA/Kelsey’s Senior Vice President and Chief Economist.

BIA/Kelsey will present data on Hispanic digital media usage and local shopping behaviors from its Consumer Commerce Monitor study during a free webinar this Thursday, February 27th.

Interested in learning more about Consumer Commerce Monitor? Check out BIA/Kelsey’s CCM page.