Are there differences between Hispanic online shoppers and their general market counterparts?
This is the million-dollar question. This last question is actually at the core of how retailers should approach the Hispanic e-commerce opportunity. Most of the focus of the Hispanic e-commerce debate has revolved around the language of the shopping platform and experience. I would posit that the fundamental question and opportunity regarding Hispanic e-commerce lies in understanding Hispanic online behavior. There is some data out there that supports my theory: • Hispanics that are comfortable buying online but will typically go to English versions of e-commerce sites (Internet Retailer/Omni Direct, 2010) • Online Hispanics generally perceive English language Web sites as more comprehensive, detailed and useful than Spanish-language versions (AOL Cheskin Hispanic Cyberstudy, 2010) • Concerns about providing personal information online (32%) and the desire to touch and feel products before making a purchase (30%) were the two leading reasons why Hispanic Internet users refrained from
