Staking Out the Stats

As credit unions court Hispanic members, here’s one study they need to pay attention to. According to the third annual AOL/Roper U.S. Hispanic Cyberstudy, a growing number of Hispanics are comfortable going online for everything from information gathering to downloading music. Hispanics now turn to the Internet to learn more about products, share opinions and improve their lives logging an average of 9.2 hours a week online at home compared to 8.5 hours a week logged by the general population. Here are few other survey findings: * Online Hispanics are about as likely (54%) as the general population (56%) to look for information about financial questions or needs. * 43% use the Internet regularly or occasionally to open a bank account or do online banking, up from 34% in 2004. * 23% are planning on buying a new home in the next 12 months, which is significantly higher than among the online general population of 16%. * 56% of online Hispanics cite owning their own business as a goal compared with 36% of the online general population.