Moms fiscally fit, thinking green, going online
The nation's economic recession is causing consumers to rethink spending habits
By Daphne Garland-McLean -- Kids Today, 9/1/2009 12:00:00 AM
The nation's economic recession is causing consumers to rethink spending habits and decide what is most important. This is especially true for moms who often bear responsibility for household spending and want to stretch their family dollars.
According to recent figures from the Bureau of the Census, there's an estimated 82.8 million moms in the United States. Additionally, releases from the Census Bureau based on 2008 figures indicate there are 49.4 million children under age 18 living with married parents, 2.4 million living with unmarried parents and 16.9 million living with their mother only.
Many moms are in control of spending for their children and households; Maria Bailey, author of Trillion Dollar Moms and co-founder of the Marketing to Moms Coalition, estimated moms spend $2 trillion dollars each year and about 85% of all household spending is influenced by moms.
However, with unstable times comes uncertainty. A 2009 Mom Central Consulting study revealed that nearly one-third of moms are stressed about the economy and job stability. And this has moms cutting back on spending and implementing new habits.
What are moms doing?
Moms are getting fiscally fit. They are clipping coupons, watching their discretionary spending and choosing their purchases carefully. In addition, they are teaching their children to be fiscally fit.
Ninety-eight percent of moms surveyed in a 2009 Mom Central Consulting survey said they use coupons to save money. And, more than 75% of those respondents said they are clipping more coupons as well as increasing their actual use of coupons.
Moms are limiting discretionary spending as well. According to the MCC survey, three out of four moms are reducing spending on their children. Even as school is back in session, moms are only purchasing what their child needs vs. what they might want. According to the National Retail Federation, a 7.7% decline is expected for back-to-school-spending on K-12 students this year, dropping from $594 in 2008 to $548 per kid.
In becoming fiscally fit, moms are clueing their children in on the key habits of fiscal responsibility too. Per the MCC survey, moms identified seven points that will assist children in becoming smart consumers. The primary habit listed is learning to save. Eighty-four percent of moms reported teaching that habit. As well, more than four-fifths of moms teach appreciating what you have instead of what you want, recycling and having fun without spending a lot.
Green moms
Moms are going green; 81% consider themselves some shade of green per MCC. In a 2009 BabyCenter study, moms who responded by saying they actively seek eco-friendly or green products for their family increased by 51% over the last three years. Nine out of 10 respondents would like to see more green or eco-friendly products on the market and of those, 86% report being interested (either "very" or "extremely") in the purchase of green products.
What inspires a mom to be more interested in green or eco-friendly products? According to the BabyCenter study, more than nine out of 10 moms are interested out of concern for their children. DisneyFamily.com results from a recent online survey revealed moms are concerned about the environment, but more than that, they are interested in saving money. The survey showed 79% of moms turn off the lights when leaving a room to save money whereas only 18% of moms did so to help save the environment. Two-thirds of moms unplugged appliances when not in use to reduce costs while one out of five moms unplug to reduce their carbon footprint.
Tech savvy
With their busy lives, moms tend to squeeze in time for connecting with others whenever they can. They are looking for media and technologies to help them manage their families as well as just entertainment for themselves. Today's moms are empowered and unafraid of technology. According to BSM Media, nearly two-thirds of moms use at least five technologies every day, including video, blogs, wireless phones, computers and the like. The bottom line is moms are extremely resourceful and willing to use technology to their advantage. And, moms will continue to be creative and explore new technological opportunities for their family.
One such technology is mobile technology. Wireless telephones provide moms with greater connectivity to their families. And, that is a feature that moms require as they manage the hectic schedules of family members. The BabyCenter research found that:
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Nearly three out of four moms believe they are always in touch with their family courtesy of mobile technology.
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Nine out of 10 moms never leave home without their cell phone.
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More than one-half of moms use their cell phone to communicate with their child's nanny, daycare or school.
Another technology, the Internet, seems to be the medium of choice for moms, ranking higher than either TV or magazines according to the BabyCenter. After becoming a mom, one-third of women used the Internet more often. eMarketer estimated more than 33 million moms in the U.S. were online in 2008, a figure that's expected to grow by 6.5% to 36.1 million in 2013.
While moms use the Internet for daily tasks such as paying bills and planning activities, they also use it for socializing and entertainment. Through general searches, social media sites and following and/or writing blogs, moms are gathering information to help enrich their lives and those of family members. According to BabyCenter, 68% of moms feel going online is a great way to relax and two-fifths of moms say their time online is often the most peaceful part of their day.
Social media
Social media plays an important role in keeping moms connected. According to BabyCenter, over the last three years, moms' overall use of social media increased from 11% to 63%. When looking specifically at millennial moms — those who are age 18 to 32 — social media usage increased from one-fifth to two-thirds during the same timeframe. And, GenX moms, age 33 to 44, increased usage from 6% to 60%, growing a whopping 900% between 2006 and 2009. This growth shows moms are tuned in to technology and are deepening their contact and exploration of these social media sites.
With social media and blogs, moms seek advice as well as share it. In fact when it comes to making purchases, BSM Media found word-of-mouth is one of the most important marketing tools for moms — more than half rely on recommendations when making purchases for the home and that number climbs to 64% when it comes to purchases for their children. Additionally, the BabyCenter survey indicated that 72% of respondents trust posts from moms with similar experiences to their own.
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BSM Media reported 85% of moms turn to the Internet first when looking for product recommendations and other mom-related parenting advice.
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According to Experian Simmons, almost one-half of online moms in 2009 are doing more shopping on the Internet than before.
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Nearly three out of 10 U.S. Internet moms like to hear about products and services by e-mail per Experian Simmons.
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Almost all, 96%, of moms value the recommendations they find on mom blogs according to the 2009 Mom Central Consulting survey.
Moms are not excluding their children from the Internet experience either. Fifty-one percent of moms say they go online with their children and 46% say they sometimes play video games with their children. More than four-fifths of moms look up information with their family and more than one-half use social networking sites with their family, according to BabyCenter's 21st Century Mom report.
Reaching out to moms
According to the BabyCenter study, the best time to reach moms using one or more technological media is between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. However, retailers must be ready to market themselves to moms regardless of the form of technology they use. According to BSM Media, seven out of 10 moms feel companies are not doing a good job of speaking to them. So, to capture the attention of today's mom, retailers must take the time to get to know this audience well.
In the 2008 Marketing to Moms Coalition survey of different media, 87% of moms preferred to see advertising showing moms having fun with their kids while 86% preferred to see moms multi-tasking. Another 86% felt one of the best ways to reach a mom audience was to make mom laugh. The survey also revealed moms' top sources for seeking important information include the Internet, 38%.
Regardless of whether reaching out to mom online or making an effort to attract her to brick-and-mortar stores, researchers at the BabyCenter concluded there are some guiding principles retailers must do:
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Recognize a mom's time is limited and precious;
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Acknowledge her child's naptime is primetime;
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Attract and engage her;
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Provide the information she needs;
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Emphasize product attributes relevant to her;
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Show or tell her why she should purchase your product.
Tech-Savvy Moms
Moms and technology media
Percentage of moms who use daily by age group
| 18–24 | 25–44 | 45+ | |
| Source: Marketing to Moms Coalition, Moms Annual Media Survey, 2008 | |||
| 73% | 87% | 79% | |
| TV | 74% | 84% | 75% |
| Mobile phone/PDA | 62% | 69% | 63% |
| Web sites | 67% | 64% | 52% |
| Radio | 37% | 57% | 46% |
| Newspapers | 13% | 23% | 36% |
| Magazines | 13% | 10% | 12% |
| Chat rooms/message boards | 17% | 9% | 9% |
| Blogs | 17% | 8% | 4% |
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