• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, July 25, 2012

Hispanic consumers are tech trendsetters domestically -- or, at least, that’s how many see themselves, according to comScore and Latin American online media company Terra.
 
Per the joint report, Hispanics continue to outpace non-Hispanics with the adoption of smartphones -- an increase from 43% in 2010 to 57% in 2012, compared to an increase from 36% in 2010 to 46% in 2012 for non-Hispanics.
 
What’s more, Hispanic consumers have taken the smartphone adoption a step further by using them to research and make purchases more than non-Hispanic consumers in every category. In particular, during the purchasing funnel, Hispanics are more likely to use social, mobile and online content as resources.
 
"Mobile technology has so naturally integrated into the lives of Hispanics ... that they are forging these digital trends," according to Fernando Rodriguez, CEO of Terra USA.
 
Meanwhile, digital advertising plays an increasingly important role in the purchasing decision process for Hispanics, Rodriguez said.
 
The demographic is more likely to remember brands advertised on portable devices and is motivated to visit brand sites and/or retail stores as a result of digital advertising and social posts, Terra found.
 
In fact, 38% of Hispanics agree that they are more likely to visit branded sites and retail stores, compared to just 24% of non-Hispanics.
 
For the study, a nationally representative sample of 3,048 Hispanic and non-Hispanic consumers participated in a survey fielded earlier in the year. In addition, using comScore's panel of 1 million U.S. consumers, panelists' online behavioral was passively observed.