BOCA RATON, Fla., Nov. 12, 2015 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — Hispanics will be spending more on holiday shopping this year and are more likely to buy gifts online than in the past, according to a national survey by the Florida Atlantic University Business and Economic Polling Initiative (FAU BEPI).

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Numbers were up across the board from last year’s survey, with 30.7 percent saying they expect to spend more on holiday shopping this year, compared with 28.9 percent in 2014. The number of respondents who said they would not be doing any holiday shopping dropped nine points from 20.1 percent in 2014 to 11.1 percent in 2015, suggesting Hispanics are doing better financially.  

The number of Hispanics who plan to shop on Black Friday went up four points from last year (56 to 60 percent), while those who plan to shop online on Cyber Monday increased from 52 percent in 2014 to 58 percent this year. Females are more likely than males (67 percent to 54 percent) to shop on Black Friday, while Hispanics in the highly prized 18 to 34 age brackets (72 percent) are most likely to surf the web for deals on Cyber Monday. Additionally, more Hispanics expect to do most of their holiday shopping before Thanksgiving, increasing from 21.5 percent in 2014 to 27.7 percent this year.

Overall, spending appears to be on the rise in 2015 with 13 percent of respondents saying they will spend more than $1,000 compared with 8 percent in 2014.

“With the buying power of Hispanics, retailers should be more focused than ever on attracting this lucrative segment of the population to their brands,” said Monica Escaleras, Ph.D., director of the BEPI.

Another indication of an improving economy, Escaleras noted, can be found in the 5 percent increase among Hispanics who said they would use cash for their purchases, up to 64 percent from 59 percent in 2014. Females are more likely to use cash than males (69 percent to 58 percent), while Hispanics in the northeast are significantly more likely to pay for their holiday purchases with credit (45 percent compared to 25 percent nationally).

The Hispanic Consumer Sentiment Index dropped to 92.67, down four points from September. The survey was conducted nationally Oct. 1-31.