The Changing Digital Habits of Multicultural Consumers

With multicultural consumers comprising an increasing share of younger generations, grasping the intersection between multicultural and digital becomes fundamentally important to marketers. 

With 44% of millennials and nearly half of gen-Z identifying as multicultural – understanding their digital lives is integral to long-term success for all brands.

Our latest study covers a broad range of important areas, including:

  • Digital landscape: Devices and social media platforms
  • Influencers: How cultural segments lead influence and how it is an attractive engagement tool for this audience
  • Language decisions: When and where to use Spanish vs. English digitally
  • Digital Consumer journey (preview): How multicultural consumers interface with digital touchpoints along four pre-purchase steps

In this post we’ll focus on the digital landscape and social media behaviors.

A Changing Digital Landscape

In 2018, Hispanics are still the most likely to be mobile-only, which means that they ONLY have a smartphone, and no other devices. Over a quarter of 18+ Hispanics engage with the digital world primarily through their phones. That’s nearly 10% higher than total adults.

This is an important distinction for a few reasons. First, it signifies a fundamental shift. These consumers show a greater proficiency for performing more-complex functions on phones. Tasks that other users may wait to do on a desktop. This means that keeping mobile at the center of your Hispanic digital strategy is paramount.

Second, this Hispanic mobile-priority is stable. Like the total market, Hispanic millennials are also substantially more likely to be mobile-only – meaning that the primacy of mobile will continue well into the future.

Inching Closer to Facebook

When we look at social media platforms, even though Facebook remains #1 or near the top for all multicultural segments, its lead is narrower there as compared to the White segment.

Although Facebook remains the favorite for most – its dominance is not as pronounced with multicultural consumers, with YouTube, Instagram, and even WhatsApp playing a role.

chart-social-media-preferences

Going Beyond Usage

While it’s important to level-set on how often groups are using these platforms, a question that clients frequently ask us is the “why behind usage”. What do consumers see as the main utility and where and when do they engage?

  • Facebook: Connection with friends and family who live far away
  • YouTube: Go-to source for entertainment and gaining knowledge on a variety of subjects
  • Instagram: Closer community than Facebook, but stills feels performative to some
  • Snapchat: Caters to younger people, fun, irreverent way to stay in touch with friends

Multicultural segments engage with social media differently than white individuals. They are much more likely to see social media as a tool to project themselves. As a megaphone for their unique voices.

social-media-stats

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