Hispanic Cyberstudy 2002.

America Online, Inc. and RoperASW released the first annual U.S. Hispanic Cyberstudy which documents online attitudes and
behaviors of the U.S. Hispanic online consumer community. Among the key findings:

* The size of the online Hispanic population is growing rapidly, with nearly half of those surveyed (48%) having first gone online at home in the past two years – compared to 21% for total U.S. online consumers.

* Hispanic consumers report spending more time online than total U.S. online consumers – nearly 10 hours a week at home (9.5) vs. 8.4 hours for all U.S. online consumers and 13.8 hours a week at work vs. 9.6 hours for all U.S. online consumers.

* Hispanics surveyed spend 16% more time online per week (15.7 hours home/work combined*) vs. total US online adults (13.5 hours home/work combined). Hispanics surveyed spend 12% more time online per week from home (9.5 vs. 8.4 total US online adults) and 44% more time online per week from work (13.8 vs. 9.6 total US online adults).

* Hispanic online consumers surveyed want bilingual online service — with 83% saying access to English content is very or somewhat important, and 58% saying the same of Spanish content.

Howard Shimmel, Vice President, Research, America Online, said: “AOL’s success has always been based on an unsurpassed understanding of how consumers use the online medium, and what they want from it – which is why we’ve undertaken this study of one of the fastest-growing components of the Internet audience. We’re proud to be the number one online service for Hispanic consumers and are working hard to provide even more of the convenience, specially tailored content, and bilingual community that the Cyberstudy shows online Hispanics are looking for.”

Online Becomes Central Communications Tool

Hispanic online consumers report heavy usage of the online medium to communicate, using e-mail, instant messaging and sharing photos to communicate important news and to stay in touch with old and new friends and acquaintances.

* More than two-thirds (69%) of those surveyed regularly or occasionally send and receive pictures from family and friends online;

* Two-thirds of those surveyed regularly or occasionally (66%) use online instant messaging to communicate, a significantly higher proportion than the total US online consumer population (48%);

*Approximately three-quarters (76%) of U.S. Hispanic online consumers surveyed regularly or occasionally use the online medium to communicate with friends or family members;

* More than the total U.S. online consumer population (31%), over four in ten Hispanic online consumers (43%) surveyed report they provide only an e-mail address as the preferred means of staying in touch with someone they just met. In comparison,19% of online Hispanics surveyed provide new friends with only a telephone number;

* Seven in ten (69%) Hispanic online consumers surveyed believed that being online has helped them stay in touch with people in their lives. One-third (36%) also said being online has helped them reconnect with someone they lost contact with from their past;

* Nearly half (48%) of the Hispanic online consumers surveyed have sent or received an e-mail announcing major personal news, such as the birth of a child, a wedding or a new job.

Online Entertainment and E-Commerce Taking Off

The survey also revealed that online Hispanics emerge as more avid consumers of entertainment-related online features and activities than total U.S. online consumers, with music, in particular, shown as a strong online activity. It also indicates that Hispanic online consumers purchase tickets for entertainment-related events and more consumer electronics. Key findings include:

* Hispanic online consumers surveyed report being more active in online entertainment activities than their total U.S. online counterparts, with half (50%) reporting they regularly or occasionally “listen to music like you do on the radio” (compared with 40% of total US online consumers), 44% reporting “downloading music files” (vs. 33%), and 36% reporting “watching video clips” (vs. 29%);

* Hispanic online consumers surveyed who have made purchases online, report spending an average of $439 over the past three months, on the heels of the generally more mature total online U.S. shoppers with a reported average of $543. Additionally, more than one-third (37%) of online Hispanics surveyed reporting they expect to increase their number of online purchases;

* Hispanic online consumers surveyed who have shopped online are as likely as total U.S. online consumers to say they regularly or occasionally purchase the following items online: concert, event or movie tickets (42% vs. 38%); CDs or DVDs (40% vs. 37%); but are significantly more likely than total online shoppers to purchase consumer electronics online (40% vs. 30%) and to have groceries delivered to their home (13% vs. 5%). Additional purchases made by Hispanic online shoppers include clothing, shoes, or apparel (40% vs. 50%); and computer hardware and software (38% vs. 44%);

* A majority of Hispanic online consumers surveyed say that going online is the best way to: start the process of learning about a product and/or service they might want to buy (61%); learn about features and benefits of a specific brand of a product and/or service (52%); learn about different brands of a product and/or service that are available (50%); and compare prices of the product and/or service (50%);

* A significant portion of Hispanic online consumers surveyed find online advertising informative (41%), a greater percentage than total U.S. online consumers (24%).

* More than half (53%) of Hispanic online consumers surveyed who have ever made a purchase online report that they have recommended a specific shopping Web site to a friend or family member;

* More than four in ten (43%) of Hispanic online consumer parents surveyed report their children have asked them to purchase something they saw online.

Hispanic online consumers surveyed who have not yet made a purchase online agree that concerns about security of credit card information (58%), lack of a 100% satisfaction guarantee (56%) and lack of free shipping (44%) are acting as impediments to shopping online.

Peter Blacker, Vice President, Interactive Marketing, International & US Hispanic, of America Online, Inc., said: “The Hispanic Cyberstudy demonstrates how e-commerce has emerged as one of the most active areas for Hispanic online consumers. Online Hispanics use the medium to research purchases, learn more about products, and even complete transactions. The message is clear: being online is an essential part of any advertising mix targeted towards the exciting Hispanic market.”

Parents Believe Being Online Has a Positive Effect on Children

The Hispanic Cyberstudy underscores the belief in the importance of children being online with two-thirds (67%) of Hispanic online consumers surveyed stating that it is important for children today to know how to go online and use the Internet. In addition, the study found:

* Hispanic online consumer parents also believe being online has a positive effect on their children: two-thirds (66%) of Hispanic online consumer parents surveyed said it has had a positive effect on their skills for entering the job market one day and approximately eight in ten (77%) believe it has had a positive effect on the quality of their child’s homework.

* More than half (59%) of Hispanic online consumer parents surveyed use some kind of parental control feature/method of automatically limiting places children can visit online. Moreover, an overwhelming majority (79%) set rules for their childrens’ use of the medium. Among those who set rules, the top rules include the following: requiring they do not give out personal information online (95%); limiting the amount of time they can spend online (93%); restricting areas they can visit (91%); and letting them go online only when their homework is done (86%).

* More than half of Hispanic online consumer parents surveyed (56%) require that an adult be present when their children go online. An overwhelming majority of Hispanic online consumer parents surveyed (85%) have gone online while sitting together with their children.

An Active Interest in New Online Activities

Hispanic online consumers surveyed expressed interest in many of the new or emerging online activities asked about in the Cyberstudy. For example:

* Six in ten Hispanic online consumers surveyed (60%) said they are very or somewhat interested in, or already do, renew their driver’s license online.

* Approximately half of Hispanic online consumers surveyed are also interested or already have registered to vote/voting online (50%) and have received/paid their household bills online (47%).

* About four in ten of Hispanic online consumers surveyed (43%) are interested in or already engage in ordering prescription medicine online, checking voice mail messages using a computer (43%), and getting a teacher to help their child with homework online (39%).

Methodology
The AOL/ RoperASW Hispanic Cyberstudy was conducted via telephone among a random sample of 301 Hispanic home Internet/online subscribers. Bi-lingual interviewers were used and that respondents were given the option of conducting the interview in English or Spanish. The interviews were conducted from October 1, 2002 to October 28, 2002. The margin of error is ±6% for the total sample.

The AOL/RoperASW US Cyberstudy was conducted via telephone among 1,001 home Internet users from September 15 through October 13, 2002. The margin of error is ±3% for the total sample.