English-language sites are currently under-serving 7.1 million online Hispanics. If companies are serious about reaching this growing audience, they need to offer Spanish-language sites.

According to a phone survey of 3,000 Hispanic adults by Forrester Research, fifty-one percent of online Hispanics in the US prefer to be offered Spanish-language Web sites, and 23 percent must have Spanish online.

The survey found that forty-nine percent of Hispanic adults -- or 13.9 million people -- are online at least monthly, up from 45 percent of Hispanics last year. 61 percent of online Hispanics have broadband at home, compared with only 40 percent in 2005.

"English-language sites are currently under-serving 7.1 million online Hispanics," said Forrester Research data researcher Tamara Barber. "If companies are serious about reaching this growing audience, they need to offer Spanish-language sites. Not only does Spanish online help those who depend on Spanish for interactions, but it also builds brand value with consumers who can transact in English but prefer to be served in Spanish. "

Forrester defines Spanish-preferring consumers as Hispanic online consumers who would have a more positive customer experience in Spanish. Spanish-preferring consumers fit at least one of four criteria, and the more criteria they select, the stronger their preference for Spanish over English. The survey found that more than half of online Hispanics fit into one of the following four criteria, and 23 percent of them fit into three or four of them;

1. Thirty-two percent of online Hispanics are more comfortable visiting Web sites that are Spanish-language.
2. Almost 30 percent of Spanish-preferring Hispanics get more of the information they need when using a Spanish-language Web site.
3. Twenty-eight percent of Spanish-preferring Hispanics say they are more likely to trust companies that have Spanish-language Web sites.
4. Twenty-six percent of Spanish-preferring Hispanics spend at least half of their Internet time in Spanish.

More than one hundred brands were covered in the survey, allowing Forrester to pinpoint current and untapped Spanish-preferring Hispanics for specific brands. For example, Forrester’s data shows that Dell has 1.5 million customers who prefer Spanish online; Best Buy has almost 2.8 million Spanish-preferring Hispanic customers today; and Bank of America serves 1.3 million.