Here is a good compilation of Hispanic facts by Lexicon Marketing. Some 73% of surveyed Hispanic Baby Boomers say they are apprehensive about retiring, compared to only 65% of all boomers that were surveyed. Thirty-nine percent admit to feeling overwhelmed by the thought of retirement, compared to 23% of the general population. According to recent Census data, the total minority population – those of Hispanic origin or of races other than white – increased by 88% between 1980 and 2000 while the non- Hispanic white population grew by only 7.9%.

A new report by Interep features facts on the nation’s 59 million consumers aged 55-years or older. Interep’s Michele Skettino says .."with more research data supporting the fact that older Americans are still active, receptive consumers, the percentage of total radio dollars will probably increase, following the age growth curve of the actual population. While many advertisers believe that they should be directing more dollars toward older demos, shifting dollars away from a primary 25-54 or 18-49 focus is a slow process."

Total magazine advertising revenue for the month of January 2003 increased 9.5%, compared to January of last year, closing at $883,466,028, according to Publishers Information Bureau (PIB). Ad pages for January totaled 12,482.6, up 4.8% from 2002.

EBay outreaches any other site for Automotive needs by three to one in the first week in February, while Ford is the only brand noted in the top ten. And, Microsoft continues to be almost four times as strong as its nearest competitor in the Computer and Consumer Electronics sites.

It’s not news that a conservative merchandising strategy is the current program, but here’s some updated consumer activity that will help in targeting that strategy. According to the BIGresearch monthly Consumer Intentions and Action Survey, dismal sentiment about the economy is driving more consumers to practicality…50.1% now say they’ve become more practical consumers in the last 6 months, continuing upward trend begun in July. Practical consumers continue to pay down debt (45.9%) and decrease overall spending (39.6%), which remain the top 2 financial steps. Increasing savings is still in #3 spot. Only 7.0% of consumers say they will buy stocks.

According to Arbitron's MeasureCast Ratings two jazz stations were ranked within the top ten individual Internet radio stations ratings for the week of January 27. RADIOIO Eclectic was the top ranked individual Internet radio station with 324,323 hours of listening. MUSICMATCH Artist Match was ranked number two with 305,374 hours and Virgin Radio was ranked number three with 286,312 hours of TTSL.

Both Hispanics and African Americans are early adopters of the internet, compared to their Caucasian and Asian American counterparts. Caucasians and Asian Americans are far more likely to be internet users than Hispanic or African Americans. While minorities are some of the fastest growing demographic segments online, a digital divide as it relates to race and ethnicity still remains in 2003.

A double-dip this week to include the latest releases from Nielsen//NetRatings. American Greetings and the USPS, combined, reach almost 3% of the Internet audience, but AOL and Yahoo! individually are pushing half of the viewers during the week ended Jan. 26th. And, for the week of Feb. 3rd, AOL mail and IM’ing combined to serve 66 million users!

As more people use the Internet, the frequency of trying specific activities has also increased. In particular, those respondents who have used the Internet in the past 30 days were very likely to be using it more robustly. “The Internet has become a medium for more than just surfing for information,” said Brian Cruikshank, an author of the study. “The number of Internet users who are buying products and services online continues to grow. This bodes well for established online retailers who have improved their service and distribution.

Flowers, and other special occasion gifts are must-haves for loved ones during Valentine's. Nielsen//NetRatings data shows that 1800flowers.com traffic increased 24 percent in the past week. Surfers looking for gift ideas has made Red Envelope a popular stop on the Internet, as the site experienced a 33 percent increase. Additionally, finding a great restaurant for Valentine's Day is an important element to this date-centric holiday and traffic to online guide site, Citysearch.com spiked 15 percent to 654,000 unique visitors. New York was the most visited city guide within Citysearch, garnering 13 percent of the sites at home traffic, with Chicago …