|
In sharp contrast to the doom and gloom headlines of late: “Consumer prices fell at the fastest rate on record in November while home construction plunged nearly 20 percent in a single month, skidding to its lowest levels in 50 years, according to new government data that shows further weakness in the ailing economy.” 1 Retail sales on the digital side continue to showcase respectable gains as indicated in Chart #1, reaching $136.8 billion in 2008 which is a 7.2% increase from 2007.
Chart 1
eMarketer released revised projections during Dec 08, from its predictions earlier in the year in light of the fact that 2008 is the 1 st year of single digit growth since the US Department of Commerce (DOC) began estimating retail e-commerce sales in Q4 1999.2
In fact, on the digital front at least there is quite a bit of good news shared from comScore’s recent press releases:
Dec 3 08: E-Commerce Spending Jumps 15% on Cyber Monday to $846 Million, the Second Heaviest Online Spending Day on Record Eclipsed Only by Green Monday 2007 with $881 Million in Online Spending (Comscore Press Release)
Dec 10 08: Holiday E-Commerce Spending Accelerates in Most Recent Week as This Year’s Compressed Shopping Season Increases Urgency to Spend - Sales Since Cyber Monday Up 7 Percent Versus Year Ago (Comscore Press Release)
Not bad for click vs. brick in light of current economic conditions!
Perhaps because the Internet is the new kid on the block and therefore simply does not have the advantage of familiarity to many media buyers, clients as well as actual retailers lacking a viable digital checkout experience may explain why e-commerce sales, although growing, represent such a small percentage of overall retail sales. This conundrum as illustrated in Chart #2 is something that will be further explored in future issues of Terra’s Smart Marketer.
Chart 2:
Hispanic Internet Users are definitely on board and highly integrate digital within their lives. As reported in Chart #3 of July’s Smart Marketer, ‘Internet is #1 Medium by Time Spent for Hispanic Internet Users’ (Be a Smart Marketer July 2008) the Internet is the #1 medium by time spent, ahead of TV, across all generations (1 st, 2 nd, 3 rd). This finding fits comfortably within the following perspectives: 1) the Internet is the #1 choice among US teens to learn about “cool” new products even ahead of friends (Chart #3), 2) the Internet is largely relied upon by Hispanic Internet Users across various categories for online and offline buying decisions.
Chart 3:
What is available is testimony from Hispanic Internet Users indicating how they rely on the Internet to influence both online and offline buying decisions when asked the question ‘Please think of the various online and offline purchases you have made in the past 12 months. To what extent do you use the Internet (i.e. online advertising, product research, price comparisons, etc.) to inform your buying decisions for each category?
Chart 4:
As the travel category is #1, above, it deserves to be explored further.
Chart 5:
At least in this particular case, it is the Spanish only (42% usually/always) by language preference who are the heaviest users that mine the Internet for travel options, statistically significantly more so than the English only (31% usually/always) as referenced in Chart #5. Regardless, Terra’s travel channel is available in English (http://www.terra.com/travel/) or Spanish (http://www.terra.com/turismo/) and has recently featured Art Basel Miami Beach 08.
Chart 6:
Usage leads to spending, including advertising spending. Indeed, according to Chart #6, US Advertising Spending Growth for the Internet among display advertising only is 7% between Jan – Sep 08 vs. an 8.8% decrease for radio, a 10% decrease for newspaper, and a 2.1% increase for TV.
However, for those trying to make the case for digital vs. TV, eMarketer predicts that US TV advertising spending will actually decrease by 4.2% in 2009 vs. 2008 and only modestly recover in 2010 (0.5% increase from 2009 – 2010).
Chart 7:
Likewise, Terra is proud to showcase the accomplishments and unique characteristics of the Hispanic online and offline population:
- Today, births by Hispanics outpace immigration. 3
- 1 out of every 2 additions to the US population is Hispanic 4
- The Census Bureau revised its projection to 8 years earlier that racial minorities will reach 54% by 2042, surpassing non-Hispanic whites 5, of which the Hispnic population is the largest minority and can be of any race.
- The Latino Vote: there are 10 million Hispanic voters representing 9% of the total; 67% of Hispanics are registered to vote; 31% were 1 st time voters earning the label ‘the giant in the making’ 6
- The Internet is the #1 medium as far as time spent among Hispanic Internet Users. 7
On more of a non quantitative note, Terra has covered highlights of 2008 among Hispanic and Non Hispanics within our Best of 2008 Special (http://noticias.terra.com/findeano2008/index.html).
For gift giving ideas, find out which products have been purchased the most (http://compras.terra.com/portada.html) within Terra’s holiday special 2008 (http://www.terra.com/mujer/fiestas2008/).
Whether it is the superior performance of retail e-commerce sales driving overall retail sales, or the Internet as the #1 medium as far as time spent among Hispanic Internet Users, or the Internet as the #1 choice for teens to find out about cool new products, or how engrained online research behavior is conducted prior to purchase among Hispanic Internet Users, everywhere one looks the Internet is the bright light this year in face of our economic downturn. This article is packed with terrific ammunition for digital agencies and marketing efforts to hold onto their budgets and even make a stronger case for more spending targeting the Hispanic Internet population; the numbers and population trends are clearly in our favor – there is nothing stopping us!
Terra USA wishes that all Smart Marketer readers had a happy and safe holiday season, as well as our research partners that offer tremendous support and service (comScore, Dynamic Logic, eMarketer, Safecount), and of course to all Hispanic Internet Users! Thank you for your support of research.
1.) Healy, Jack. Retail Prices Fell at Record Rate in November. The New York Times. Dec 18, 08
2.) Grau, Jeffrey. US Retail E-Commerce Update. eMarketer. Dec 08 pg. 1
3.) Roberts, Sam. A Nation of None and All of the Above. The New York Times. Aug 17 08
4.) Facts for Features. Hispanic Heritage Month 2007: Sep 15 2007 – Oct 15 2007. “About 1 of every two people added to the nation’s population between July 1, 2005, and July 1, 2006, was Hispanic.”
5.) Roberts, Sam. A Nation of None and All of the Above. The New York Times. Aug 17 08
6.) Preston, Julia. In Big Shift, Latino Vote was Heavily for Obama. The New York Times. Nov. 7 08 and Puente, David. Hispanic Vote 08. ABC Exclusiva Video. Oct 30 08
7.) Terra.com Hispanic Syndicated Study by comScore for Terra USA 08
By Natasha Funk
Published: January 2009.
|
