Latin Americans are reportedly busy shopping online than visiting physical stores in 2013 according to a new study.

ESET Latin America revealed 76.5 percent of Latin Americans stated they have shopped online at some point during 2013.

How Latinos shopped online also was calculated with PCs being the top method how they made purchases. PCs accounted for 66 percent while 47 percent of purchases were made through a notebook.

Smartphones and tablets proved to be a popular method of shopping online and follow a trend revealed by a new study from The Nielsen Company.

"As an important and growing consumer segment, Hispanic digital consumers are poised to be even more influential in the coming years," stated Nielsen's The Digital Consumer report for February 2014.

Nielsen also stated that due to the Hispanics becoming the fastest growing population segment in the U.S., the adoptions of smartphones are growing at a "much quicker rate."

The February 2014 report added that nearly three in four Latinos own smartphones -- 72 percent -- and it's 10 percent higher than the average in the U.S. In addition, 49 percent of Latinos participating in the study stated they plan to replace or upgrade smartphones in the next six months. Latinos are also likely to upgrade their tablets at twice the rate than the U.S. average.

For Latin American shoppers, 32 percent shopped from a smartphone while 24 percent utilized a tablet. A majority of 76 percent admitted to shopping from home while 12 percent of online purchases took place from the workplace. Shopping in friends' homes or cybercafés was also noted with 7.5 percent and 4.3 percent, respectively.

As LatinLink noted, the Latin American Institute of E-Commerce (ILCE) projected e-commerce sales in Latin America to hit $70 billion, which is a 28 percent increase from 2012's figures.

Among specific Latin American countries, Google Hispanoamérica forecasted Argentina's online purchases to grow 44 percent during 2013 while the Mexican Internet Association's (AMIPCI) projections were not far behind with 42 percent for Mexico. The Colombian Chamber of E-Commerce estimated its online buys to grow by 25 percent while the Peruvian Chamber of E-Commerce noted a growth of 20 percent. Ecuador encountered the highest e-commerce growth since 2010 with 50 percent.

Christmas 2013 served as a busy shopping season for Latin Americans with a Deloitte survey 3,250 people from across Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Peru stating visiting department stores and malls will remain as the main source of shopping with 61 percent and 50 percent, respectively. Online sales, according to the survey, accounted for 38 percent, which is an increase from the 26 percent in 2012's survey.

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