On yesterday’s “Hispanic Consumers Buy into Digital for Local Shopping” webinar, I joined BIA/Kelsey’s chief economist, Dr. Mark Fratrik, and our head of business development Steve Passwaiter, to examine what the new Consumer Commerce Monitor survey (CCM) reveals about Hispanic consumers’ local shopping trends, social media and mobile usage.

Hispanic consumers report using mobile devices when shopping for local products and services more frequently than non-Hispanic consumers, with 52.5% of Hispanic consumers reported using a tablet daily for local shopping, and 42.5% reported using a smartphone.

When Hispanics shop locally they use social media more than non-Hispanic consumers; and when shopping they interact more with social media, 46% vs. 41% (in the last 6 months). Hispanic consumers’ rank Facebook, YouTube and Twitter as the most used social media sites. When they use social sites for local shopping, Hispanic consumers rank Facebook as their top source followed by YouTube and Google+. This is indicative of the social network landscape, with Facebook being the 800 pound gorilla in the room.

When using social media for local shopping, Hispanic consumers index higher than non-Hispanics on all social media networks, except Facebook, with 61% of Hispanics and 67% of non-Hispanics (see chart below) reporting they use Facebook for local shopping. Facebook again far outpacing all of the social networks in the space. This is a clear indicator that Facebook must be a part of a business social engagement strategy.

Key takeaways from the webinar included:

— Mobile and social advertising is vital to establishing a relationship with Hispanic consumers as they heavily use these channels to compare, browse and purchase local products and services.

— Social campaigns are tremendously effective for local businesses to drive in store purchases.

— Mobile campaigns must include social and loyalty elements as Hispanics use devices to shop locally and are more loyal to local businesses than the non-Hispanics.

— TV ads with a digital component (mobile and/or social) absolutely help influence purchases more than TV ads alone.

Webinar recording and downloadable slide deck for “Hispanic Consumers Buy into Digital for Local Shopping” are available here.

Interested in learning more about Consumer Commerce Monitor? Check out BIA/Kelsey’s CCM page.

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Mobile devices are becoming vital to Canadian consumers when they are searching for local businesses. Brick and mortar foot traffic is increased as a result with 65% of consumers who search on mobile devices going directly to a brick and mortar locations to complete their purchases. Maps are also a key factor for mobile search with 85% of smartphone users finding local map inclusion in search results at least somewhat important. When consumers actually perform a search, 94% of searchers prefer to use mobile browsers over mobile apps.

Social media is key for reviews and recommendations of products and local businesses. Eighty-six percent of respondents reported that ratings and reviews were an important factor for them when making a purchase decision. Consumers not only like to see what other people have to say about products they have used or businesses they have visited, but they also like to provide their own reviews. Thirty-seven percent of respondents said that they were likely to post about a purchase they have made to their social media network.

Here are some other key findings from the Annual Kantar Consumer Search Behavior Study:

— Consumers continue to show greater confidence in “organic search” results over pay for click

— Consumers prefer mobile browsing compatibility over mobile app availability (by a factor of 9)

— 60% of Canadians search for local business information at least once a week (27% at least a few times a week)

— 48% are conducting searches directly through search engines like Bing, Yahoo and FireFox or Google (opposed to searches within company websites or directory listings)

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