It is no secret that Latinos are the largest minority in the country and growing not only in terms of numbers, but influence. That influence is expanding rapidly thanks to the internet and accessibility of mobile devices.  The last few years have proven that there is no question that Latinos are wired and so it is no surprise they are a leading force behind social media.  What is surprising are the results of Zpryme Research and Consulting which showed an estimate on how much Latinos spent over the 2011 holiday season on popular mobile technology:   $5.15 billion.  According to Zpryme, that is approximately $1.4 billion more than last year or nearly a 30% increase from the 2010 holidays.

“The Hispanic holiday spending spree on mobile was no accident; this nation’s largest and youngest minority group will continue to seek out all-things-mobile in ‘12,” said Jason Rodriguez, CEO, Director of Research of Zpryme.

The survey of over 500 Latinos found that the top three popular mobile devices with Latinos were tablets on which they spent nearly $2 billion ($1.70 billion), laptops with over $1.5 billion spent, and smartphones on which they spent a little under $1 billion.  Other popular devices included notebooks, MP3 players/IPODs, and e-readers.

“Hispanic demand for digital content can be more easily delivered on mobile technology platforms such as tablets and smartphones,” explained Rodriguez.  ”The fact remains that mainstream U.S. programming such as T.V. and radio for Hispanics (in both English and Spanish) can’t keep pace with their specific preferences and can be more easily met and targeted with apps via mobile devices.”

The numbers are staggering and abundantly clear.  What is not clear is why more advertisers are not jumping at the opportunity to target the lucrative “wired” Latino market that is obviously ready, willing and able to spend.