Hispanics Don’t Skimp on Mobile Data

Mobile data traffic is set to soar, and based on recent research, Hispanics are a big usage driver in the US.

In December 2014 research by Rocket Fuel, 51% of US Hispanic internet users said mobile data limits were extremely important to their overall satisfaction with mobile service plans, and an additional 31% acknowledged that they were at least somewhat important. Just 7% said mobile data limits had little or no importance.

A look at Hispanics’ internet access preferences provides insight into one reason for the importance of mobile data limits. GfK research released in December 2014 found that the demographic’s device of choice for internet usage was shifting to mobile. While the laptop was still the No. 1 device used to access the internet among US Hispanic internet users, its share of respondents had fallen from 41% to 34% between 2013 and 2014.

During the same timeframe, the percentage of respondents who preferred mobile phones and smartphones rose from 22% to 26%—pushing the device type past desktop computers to second place. Mobile phone, smartphone and tablet respondents combined accounted for 34% of users—the same as No. 1 laptops. In all, eMarketer expects nearly three-quarters of US Hispanic mobile phone users—or 33.7 million people—to access the internet via their phones this year.

All of this means that Hispanics are a prime target for unlimited data plans. Indeed, according to Rocket Fuel, they were 8% more likely than non-Hispanic consumers to have one.

Courtesy of eMarketer