Research has shown again and again that women make or influence the vast majority of purchase decisions, and mothers who spend time online have become a coveted target audience that brand marketers are trying hard than ever to reach. However, messages and campaigns are still missing the mark.
New research from Burst Media reveals that the powerful “online moms” audience is more savvy and decisive than ever. Citing statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau, Burst Media reports that 40% of all U.S. households with children under the age of 18 are led by mothers who are either the sole or primary source of income for the entire family.
Furthermore, Baby Center has reported that 81% of U.S. moms own smartphones and 52% own tablets with 68% of them using their smartphones while they shop. In other words, the “mother” market segment has evolved over the years, and old marketing tactics need to evolve along with the target audience.
Burst Media shared a number of key findings from its research that can help brand marketers better understand how the audience of online mothers is using the internet to make and influence purchase decisions. Some of the highlights are included below. Follow the link above to access the full report.
Usage
- 91.9% of moms go online daily for personal use.
Mobility
- 61.5% of U.S. moms frequently use smartphones or tablets to access websites and social networks.
- 87.6% of mothers with household incomes of $100,000 or more frequently use smartphones or tablets to access websites and social networks.
Brands
- 43.5% of moms have published a review, comment, or question about a specific brand online.
- 60.8% of moms who have published a review about a brand online, published those reviews on social networking sites, including Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and Pinterest.
- Moms are most likely to publish reviews, questions, or comments on social networks (62.2%) followed by shopping/retail sites (55.9%) and blogs/independent sites (32.4%).
- 56.1% of moms share or post product coupons and sales incentives on social media sites.
Purchase Decisions
Moms are “very involved” in most household purchase decisions. For example, they make or influence purchase decisions as follows:
- Furniture = 83%
- Travel and family vacations = 81.9%
- Large household appliances = 80%
- Home repairs and remodeling = 79.1%
- Banking, financial, and retirement products = 77.1%
- Automobiles and auto repairs = 75.8%
Moms are also turning to the web to make purchase decisions in greater numbers than ever. When asked their primary information source for researching products and services, the results broke down as follows:
- Web = 41%
- Friends and family = 19.4%
- Brochures and product materials = 15.1%
- Social networks such as Facebook and Pinterest = 4.6%
- In-store displays = 4.1%
- Magazines = 3.9%
- Television shows = 3.5%
- Newspapers = 2.3%
Based on the results from this study, are you targeting online moms appropriately? Do your messages, social media activities, and content distribution strategies match what online moms are looking for and where they’re looking for it in 2013? Leave a comment and share your thoughts about marketing to online moms.
Image: Alicja Stolarczyk
Lucy is Editor at Corporate Eye
