Online Hispanic Trends

MercadoLibre acquiring DeRamate to Strengthen its Position in Chile, Argentina and Mexico

MercadoLibre, Inc., the leading Internet trading platform in Latin America, announced that it is acquiring the operations of DeRamate, an online trading platform with operations in Chile, Argentina and Mexico.

"The acquisition is expected to significantly expand MercadoLibre's footprint in Chile while strengthening the company's leadership position in Argentina."  

Source: Marketwatch.com

Fox Launches a New Spanish-Language Website

Tapping into the power of the growing online Hispanic market, Fox International Channels has launched Biensimple.com, an interactive wiki-based site targeting the U.S. Spanish-language community.

Emiliano Saccone, svp, marketing and content at FIC explains that "The site is intended as a one-stop destination for consumers seeking advice on topics such as health, relationships, money, beauty and technology. Commentary is contributed by "trusted sources," including doctors, relationship counselors and culinary experts."

By combining user generated content to drive traffic and professional content, which is more pleasing to advertisers, FIC hopes that the site will become a full-fledged social network.

Source: Adweek  

 

Younger Hispanics Respond Better to Bilingual Online Marketing

In a study conducted on how Hispanic customers participate in Web-based forums, Boston-based social media company Communispace found that "Hispanics are more willing to espouse ideas and commentary in a private, online forum than participants in English-language communities."

However, Communispace found that second-generation Hispanics were less inclined to participate in Spanish-only environments than their first-generation counterparts. The study showed that second-generation Hispanics are often less proficient at writing Spanish than reading it.

The results indicate that marketers should speak to more acculturated Hispanics on both English and Spanish to more closely mirror their offline experiences.  

Source: MarketingDaily

Hispanic population surge can't be ignored

An article in the Dallas Morning News highlights the fact that the minority population in the U.S. is growing much quicker than demographers had projected. The most recent data projects that the U.S. will become majority ethnic by 2042, instead of 2050. The growth will come in both the Hispanic and Asian segments, but Hispanics are leading the surge. They are  expected to triple from 46.7 million to 132.8 million, with nearly one in three U.S. residents being Hispanic within a generation.

Another article providing analysis on the recently released Census projections in the Ottawa Citizen says that:

• 54% of Americans will be minorities by 2050.
• Non-Hispanic whites, at 200 million in 2008, will grow to 203 million by 2050.
• The Hispanic population will nearly triple to 133 million during this period, representing almost a 1/3 of total projected U.S. population of 439 million in 2050.
• The percentage of non-Hispanic blacks will remain flat at about 12%.
• Asians will grow from 4.5 per cent of the population in 2010 to nearly 8 per cent in 2050.