Nielsen//NetRatings today revealed that Web surfers of Hispanic origin are the fastest growing at-home ethnic group on the Web. Nearly 7.6 million Hispanics accessed the Internet in June, jumping 13%
year-over-year as compared to 6.7 million the previous year, making Hispanics the third largest ethnic group online.
"With the online populations of ethnic Web surfers growing each year, the
online landscape is more closely mirroring the offline reality," said T.S. Kelly, director and principal analyst at NetRatings. "This growth reveals an untapped opportunity for businesses to win over
these population groups."
Web surfers identifying themselves as being Asian or of Pacific Islander descent grew 6% to nearly 2.4 million individuals. More than 94 million Caucasian Web surfers
accessed the Internet during the month, rising 4% year-over-year, while the African American Web population grew 3% to nearly 7.8 million.
By comparison, the overall Web population grew 3%,
year-over-year to nearly 105 million unique Internet users this past month. With the exception of the Hispanic group, the market share of the various ethnicities has remained relatively unchanged.
Caucasians comprised nearly 90% of the online audience at home in June, while African Americans took the spot as the second largest group, accounting for 7.4%. Web surfers of Hispanic origin
comprised more than seven percent of the total online population while Asian Americans rounded out the list with 2.3%.
Web Surfing by Ethnic Populations Grows Across the board, Web usage by
various ethnic groups grew year-over-year, with Asian Web surfers posting the most aggressive consumption. Asian Web surfers initiated 26 Internet sessions, spending more than 16 hours online in June,
recording 8% and 17% growth, respectively. Asian Web surfers additionally accessed 1,364 Web pages last month, jumping 11%.
Caucasian Internet users accessed the Internet 21 times in June, jumping
11% as compared to the previous year, and spent more than 11 hours online, posting a 14% growth. Surfers of Hispanic origin logged online 18 times during the month, rising 6% year-over-year, and spent
more than 10 hours online, jumping 14%. African American Web surfers initiated 17 Web sessions and spent nearly 10 hours online, rising 6% and 5%, respectively, from the year prior.
"With online
populations of various ethnic groups on the rise, companies and marketers are presented with a growing opportunity to reach these underserved groups through targeted content offerings and smartly
placed advertising," Kelly said.
Nielsen//NetRatings Online Population by Race (U.S., Home)
+----------------------+---------------+----------------+-----------+
| Ethnicity | June 2001 | June 2002 | Year Over |
| | Unique |
Unique | Year |
| | Audience | Audience | Percent |
| | | | Growth |
+----------------------+---------------+----------------+-----------+
| Hispanic Origin | 6.7 million | 7.6 million | 13% |
| Percent Composition | 6.60% |
7.20% | |
| Asian or Pacific | 2.2 million | 2.4 million | 6% |
| Islander | | | |
| Percent Composition |
2.20% | 2.30% | |
| White (Caucasian) | 90.8 million | 94.0 million | 4% |
| Percent Composition | 89.50% | 89.60% | |
| African
American | 7.5 million | 7.8 million | 3% |
| Percent Composition | 7.40% | 7.40% | |
+----------------------+---------------+----------------+-----------+
Source: Nielsen//NetRatings, June 2002