Synovate Study Compares Online Behavior of Connected Hispanics, African-Americans and General Market Consumers 
 Shows disparities in social networking site visits, shopping and banking online

    CHICAGO, June 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Despite the much cited "digital
divide," many multicultural consumers in the U.S. are getting much more
active online but in different ways, according to new research from global
market research firm Synovate. Though younger people across all groups are
much more likely to be online, there are major differences, including
between males and females of the same age and ethnic group.

    To find out more about online behavior among multicultural consumers,
Synovate recently surveyed a total of 4,000 males and females ages 18+
across the U.S., including approximately 1,000 general market respondents,
1,000 African-Americans and 2,000 Hispanics.

    Though approximately one in four Hispanics, African-Americans and
general market consumers have visited YouTube.com in the past six months,
African- American and Hispanic males ages 18-34 were more likely to have
visited YouTube than their female counterparts. Among African-Americans,
55% of males and 33% of females visited YouTube, while among Hispanics, 41%
of males and 20% of females visited the site. This differs from the general
market, for which visiting this website was equally popular between males
and females in the same age group.

    For Hispanics, this gender disparity also extends to social networking
sites such as MySpace.com and Facebook.com. Hispanic females were
significantly less likely than Hispanic males to have visited social
networking websites recently, with 18% of women and 27% of men claiming to
have visited them. This is in sharp contrast to African-American and
general market men and women, who were equally as likely to have visited
MySpace or Facebook.

    The differences in online behavior are especially prevalent with online
shopping. Among general market consumers, 57% have made a recent purchase
online while only 42% of African-Americans and one quarter of Hispanics
have done the same. The gap is even larger with eBay visits. Less than
three out of ten African-Americans and Hispanics have visited eBay in the
past six months versus 41% of the general market population.

    According to Denise Marks, Vice President of Diversity Research at
Synovate, "For many multicultural consumers, Internet usage is about
connecting with friends and family, and to keep up on the latest trends and
news. As more Hispanics and African-Americans spend time online, marketing
efforts should be directed towards building trust among these consumers to
help them feel comfortable about online commercial transactions."

    Hispanics also lag behind other groups in adopting online banking, with
only 24% claiming to have paid monthly bills online recently compared to
38% of general market consumers and 34% of African-Americans. While
Hispanics overall are less likely to own financial products such as bank
accounts and credit cards, their lower use of online banking may also be
due to the fact that only 59% of Hispanics have Internet access at home,
work, school, or through other means. This is substantially lower than the
African-American and general market populations, of which at least 80% have
Internet access.

    Marks said, "Although Internet access is steadily increasing among
Hispanics, basic necessities still come first for many in this group, the
majority of whom are immigrants. Buying a computer is not always at the top
of their shopping list, especially with the current jump in food and gas
prices."

    Use of instant messaging, and posting to blogs and other online forums
is similar across all groups, and again skews towards younger respondents.
Instant messaging is more popular among Hispanic males than females, at 32%
versus 24%, but there are no differences between the sexes for blogging.

    With overall activity online, there are many differences among
Hispanics depending on the language spoken at home. Overall, Hispanics that
speak Spanish at home all or most of the time are much less likely to spend
time online than those who are bilingual or English-dominant. The largest
divide in online activities for the two language groups are engaging in
commercial transactions or visiting social networks such as MySpace or
Facebook. Those who speak English at least as much as Spanish are more
likely to participate or visit these websites.

    For more information on Synovate's 2008 U.S. Diversity Markets Report,
with data on buying power, language use profiles, and media, product, and
service usage information for Hispanics, African-Americans and
Asian-Americans, visit
http://www.synovate.com/knowledge/publications/#diversity2008. To learn more about
Synovate diversity research, visit
http://www.synovate.com/whatwedo/areas/diversity/.

    About Synovate

    Synovate, the market research arm of Aegis Group plc, generates
consumer insights that drive competitive marketing solutions. The network
provides clients with cohesive global support and a comprehensive suite of
research solutions. Synovate employs over 5,800 staff in 121 cities across
57 countries.

    For more information on Synovate visit http://www.synovate.com.

    Jennifer Chhatlani
    +1-312-526-4359
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 SOURCE Synovate

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