WebProNews

Three out of ten Hispanic buyers online spend over $200 on purchases, and big name brands have been working to attract more Hispanic business.

The Direct Marketing Association studied the Hispanic demographic for a report on direct buying habits. 82 percent of those surveyed made purchases online in the past year. Of that group, more than a third made six or more purchases online in that time.

That buying behavior has been noticed. Many e-commerce sites have made significant investments in presenting their information in Spanish, as well as other languages. There's definitely an audience, as Pew Internet noted in January 2005 that 63 percent of Hispanics are Internet users.

One business that wants to capture that market, Illuminations, has launched a version of its dcor and candle site entirely in Spanish. Like shoe maker Puma and consumer electronics firm Crutchfield, Illuminations uses technology from MotionPoint.net to render the Spanish-language site.

"We place great value on our Hispanic customers and believe they are currently underserved in the world of online commerce," said Clay Lingo, vice president, direct-to-consumer, at Illuminations. "Each of our largest online markets - California, Florida and Texas - enjoy a strong Latino presence, so we decided to act quickly to ensure our Spanish-speaking customers have complete access to our website in the language they are most comfortable."

David Utter is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business. Email him here.