By George Anderson
Spanish-speaking consumers are flocking to the Internet and retailers and manufacturers are responding by building Spanish-language e-commerce sites, reports USA Today.
The number of Hispanic consumers online grew seven percent in April, compared to two percent overall, according to research from comScore Networks. They are also spending more time surfing the Web than their non-Hispanic counterparts.
Office Depot is one of the retailers who are doing business in Spanish as well as English. Monica Luechtefeld, executive vice president of global e-commerce, Office Depot, says the company was influenced to operate a Spanish-language site not only because of the numbers of individual Hispanics going online but also by requests from Fortune 500 customers.
Moderator's Comment: Does the market opportunity support building Web sites targeted to Spanish speakers? Where do you see e-tail opportunities beyond those listed in the USA Today article?
According to USA Today, Hispanics "are among the biggest online spenders on travel, consumer electronics and baby supplies." [George Anderson - Moderator]