The Review of Black Political Economy

We examine racial and ethnic differences in computer ownership and Internet usage using data from a survey conducted by the Nomura Research Institute in 2000, supplemented with data from the August 2000 Current Population Survey. We focus on online shopping because few studies have examined racial and ethnic differences in ecommerce. The results indicate that Blacks and Hispanics are less likely to own or use a computer than non-Hispanics whites but are not less likely to shop online, even, regardless of computer ownership. Indeed, Blacks appear to shop online more frequently, and among home Internet users, to spend more than non-Hispanic whites. Review of Black Political Economy Winter 2003, Volume 30, Issue 3, pp. 7-22 ISSN: 00346446