Nielsen: Hispanics Are Most Avid Smartphone Users

NEW YORK — Hispanics use their mobile devices more than 14 hours a week for app, audio, video and web purposes — not to mention talking. Hence, they have become the most avid smartphone users around, according to Nielsen’s recent Total Audience Report.

The average Hispanic mobile user consumes 658 minutes per month on their mobile plan. This is far more than the average 510 minutes per month for consumers overall.

Among the various Hispanic subgroups, bilingual Latinos dominate, spending more than 762 minutes monthly speaking on their smartphones, Nielsen Mobile Insights found.

Compared to other ethnic groups, Latinos are highly satisfied with their mobile service providers. This makes them least likely to become “switchers” and change devices or carriers, suggesting that Hispanics stay with brands they like and are familiar with.

Their high usage and engagement with mobile devices cross functionally provides a lucrative opportunity for those in the mobile space. With a population that will represent more than half of the population growth in the United States by 2020 and nearly 85 percent of the growth by 2060, their current $1.4-trillion spending power will continue to increase.

Nielsen Mobile Insights surveys more than 300,000 online respondents annually and provides in-depth tracking of attitudes, behaviors and usage by Hispanics of various acculturation levels vs. non-Hispanics. The Spanish-language version of Mobile Insights is conducted via phone in 25 key Hispanic markets.