Digital divide? Sure, that still exists. But not when it comes to using mobile devices for shopping. In fact, according to a new study, African-American and Hispanic customers are leading the way when it comes to making purchases with smartphones.

According to a study by the Integer Group and M/A/R/C/ Research, 18 percent of African-American consumers and 16 percent of Hispanic consumers regularly use their mobile devices for purchase transactions -- rates that are significantly higher than the 10 percent of white people who use mobile for online purchases. From Gaebler Resources for Entrepreneurs: [5]

Additionally, 21 percent of African American shoppers use mobile technology for product reviews or shopping lists (compared to 13 percent of Caucasians) and 20 percent of Hispanic shoppers routinely perform mobile price comparisons.

"Basic mobile communication through SMS and mobile websites should be the points of entry," said Martin Ferro, senior account planner for Velocidad, a Hispanic promotional, retail and shopper marketing capability of The Integer Group. "Mobile marketing to multicultural shoppers is a huge opportunity."

Women are substantially ahead of men in leveraging mobile technology for shopping and now use electronic coupons at least as much as they do coupons clipped from print publications. Not surprisingly, the presence of children in any home (regardless of ethnicity) accelerates the adoption of digital technologies, including the use of mobile technologies as a shopping resource.

Read more at Gaebler Resources for Entrepreneurs. [5]

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