Forrester

Latin Americans are some of the most voracious users of social media, and according to a new Forrester Research report, that love affair with social also extends to mobile. Fifty-four percent of online Mexicans living in metropolitan areas and 38% of online Brazilians living in metro areas regularly connect with others via social networks like Facebook or orkut on their mobile phone. The Technographics^® study of more than 4,000 consumers illustrates digital adoption in these two key markets for global brands. As Forrester Analyst Roxana Strohmenger writes, "Understanding these first adopters of the [Latin American] online world will allow companies to test their online and mobile strategies and build successful voice of the customer programs that resonate with this highly social and entertainment-driven consumer market."

Other findings from the report:

• Currently, 47% of all Brazilians and 38% of all Mexicans are online. By 2016, online adoption will increase in Brazil to 57% and in Mexico to 48%.
• Online retail is still in the research phase. Brazilians and Mexicans primarily use the Internet to research products they plan to buy — they don't feel comfortable making the actual purchase online. Eighty-one percent of online Brazilians and 57% of online Mexicans regularly use the Internet to research products for purchase, and slightly more than half of online metropolitan Brazilians and online metropolitan Mexicans regularly read customer ratings and reviews of products or services. In contrast, about one-third of online metropolitan Latin Americans purchase products online.
• Mobile Internet is popular — but mainly in Mexico. Forty percent of online metropolitan Brazilians and 55% of online metropolitan Mexicans regularly use the mobile Internet. Diving deeper into the numbers, we find that for online metropolitan Mexicans, 41% connect on a daily basis to the mobile Internet, and they spend on average 4.5 hours online per week. In contrast, the mobile Internet is much less popular in Brazil. Only 24% of online metropolitan Brazilians connect on a daily basis, and they spend on average 2.2 hours online per week.

Read more about Latin Americans' digital adoption in this blog post by Analyst Roxana Strohmenger.

About Forrester Research

Forrester Research, Inc. (Nasdaq: FORR) is an independent research company that provides pragmatic and forward-thinking advice to global leaders in business and technology. Forrester works with professionals in 19 key roles at major companies providing proprietary research, customer insight, consulting, events, and peer-to-peer executive programs. For more than 28 years, Forrester has been making IT, marketing, and technology industry leaders successful every day. For more information, visit www.forrester.com.