There’s no question that moms are the primary decision maker when it comes to household purchases. Our Alert Shopper video series #2 examines this segment and is entitled “Moms and mobile marketing.” According to a DM News article, the mom is the most powerful consumer group in the U.S., comprising 75 million Americans with $2 trillion a year in spending power. That’s a lot of power and a very influential group. Ad agency Razorfish adds an important nuance in their latest report the Digital Mom. Marketers and retailers specifically should speak to women as both moms and women because their interests extend beyond her children.
Despite the economic downturn, there are some promising reports on spending for the holiday season. The Marketing to Moms Coalition, a nonprofit industry group, surveyed 1,225 moms with children under 18 living at home and found that most moms plan to spend the same amount this year compared to last year, though moms are likely to spend more money if their kids are older. So when the holiday season surprises us all with how early it starts this year and moms are heading to Target, Walmart and Costco to do their holiday shopping, how can their mobile phone help them?
Irina, 38-year-old mom, thinks researching purchases before her shopping trip is very important, especially when budgets are tight. She frequently conducts research on her phone while shopping, and finds smartphones very helpful in searches for sales and specific products. Joni, 46-year-old mom, finds shopping research helpful only if she’s searching for something very specific; this leaves her occasionally feeling like she missed out on good deals. While shopping, she often brings her phone with her and checks her messages throughout the shopping trip.
Irina and Joni aren’t alone; moms across the country find their mobile phone a helpful shopping companion. In a recent ReadWrite web article, visits to the Johnson and Johnson Babycenter mobile site is up 348 percent, and 91 percent of moms say they would never leave home without their phone. Razorfish’s Digital Mom report adds that moms choose mobile internet browsing (22%) and text-messages (17%) for research as they get closer to a purchase decision.