Commentary
Hispanic Online Population Growth
- by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, May 14, 2002
comScore Networks, in commemoration of Cinco de Mayo, has released new statistics which reveal that the Hispanic community has emerged as one of the fastest growing segments of the Internet population. From Q1 2001 to Q1 2002, the U.S. Hispanic Internet population grew by 19%, a rate more than three times that of the non-Hispanic online population. With 14.5 million unique online users in the average month last quarter, Hispanics now comprise 11% of the Total U.S. online population, up from 9.9% in the prior year.
Trends in U.S. Online Population
| Average Monthly Unique Users (millions) | Q1 2001 | Q1 2002 | Change vs. Year-Ago |
| Total US Internet Population | 123.4 | 132.0 | 7% |
| Non-Hispanic Users | 111.2 | 117.5 | 6% |
| Hispanic Users | 12.2 | 14.5 | 19% |
| Share of Total US Internet Population | Q1 2001 | Q1 2002 |
| Non-Hispanic Users | 90.1% | 89.0% |
| Hispanic Users | 9.9% | 11.0% |
Although Miami-Fort Lauderdale is the 15th largest DMA based on total Internet population, its ranking jumps twelve spots to number three based on Hispanic Web users. The Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto DMA is the number 19 market in total Web users, but jumps to number 9 based on Hispanics online. And San Diego’s 250,000 Hispanic Web users drive that market’s ranking to number 10, compared to its 26th-place ranking in total online population.
Top 10 Designated Market Areas ranked by number of Internet users of Hispanic origin
| Hispanic Unique Users(x000) | Unique Internet Users(x000) | ||
| New York | 1,656 | 9,241 | |
| Los Angeles | 1,601 | 6,723 | |
| Miami-Ft. Lauderdale | 718 | 1,963 | |
| San Fran-Oakland-San Jose | 483 | 3,070 | |
| Chicago | 448 | 4,246 | |
| Houston | 384 | 2,322 | |
| Dallas-Ft. Worth | 339 | 2,786 | |
| Phoenix | 297 | 1,948 | |
| Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto | 268 | 1,555 | |
| San Diego | 250 | 1,236 |
In a separate analysis of online shopping trends, comScore also noted the importance of Hispanics to e-commerce spending. While slightly fewer Hispanic Internet users made online purchases in a month (8% vs. 10% of non-Hispanic site visitors), Hispanic online buyers spent 7% more on average than non-Hispanic online buyers ($229 vs. $214 per buyer).
You can find out more here.
Jack Loechner is the Editor of The Center for Media Research's daily Research Brief. You can reach him at jack@mediapost.com.