Hispanics ’ Information Search and Patronage Intentions Online

In the last decade, the Hispanic population of the United States has grown exponentially. The purchasing power of Hispanics in the United States exceeds $870 billion. However, little is known about Hispanics‘ informationseeking and online-purchase behaviors. This study attempts to fill the gaps in the existing literature. We develop a model of Hispanics‘ online information seeking and purchase behaviors using the Model of Online Pre-Purchase Intentions (MOPI) and test the new model via LISREL. As suggested by MOPI, the results confirm that Hispanics‘ intentions to search for information online and their prior purchase experience lead to intentions to purchase online. The study, based on a sample of Hispanic Americans, confirms that ethnic identification, perceived behavioral control, prior purchase experience, and household income play important roles in affecting Hispanics‘ online information seeking and purchase intentions. The findings also suggest that online stores should concentrate on young, affluent, and educated Hispanic Americans with high degrees of ethnic identification because they are more likely to purchase online. Conclusions and implications are discussed.