Marketers Face a Challenge in Reaching Moms in The US
Friday, 26 May 2006
Research and Markets a source for international market research and market data, has announced the addition of a report entitled Marketing to Moms in the United States to their offerings.
With over 82 million American mothers controlling $1.3 billion in household spending, moms are one of the most profitable and sought-after consumer segments. However, marketers have a challenge in reaching this elusive and dynamic market. Because of the hectic and stressful lives that most moms lead, and the sheer number and type of decisions she makes throughout the day, it is difficult to know when and how to best reach mom.
Depending on the decision to be made, a mom may spend weeks or months researching options and seeking advice and information in order to come to a decision. In day-to-day situations, a mom may be faced with the seemingly simple choice of what to feed her child, what type of diaper is needed, or what time she needs to be at work, the doctor or at school picking up her kids. While most decisions are driven by rational, practical thoughts, others are more heavily influenced by emotions and maternal instincts--abstract expressions that are often hard for marketers to predict, understand, or influence. At the most basic level, marketers need to target moms through moms' language--this revolves around core needs such as safety, convenience, and value.
Not all moms are created equally. As such, this report explores the demographic factors impacting the moms market, including a trend towards delayed childbirth, shifts in household composition, labor force participation, and the change towards a more ethnically diverse composition of the US population. Related to this are changes in attitudes among the various generations of moms, from Baby Boomer "soccer moms" to the Gen X and Echo Boom "iMom."
This report also examines key sectors of spending in the baby and kids market and key household spending categories including: baby durables, food and drink, children's personal care products, clothing, consumer electronics, among others. The factors that influence spending decisions in these sectors are also explored, along with the level of influence certain marketing mediums have on how mom shops and makes purchase decisions.
Along with the traditional means through which mom is influenced, this report also examines the perceptions behind the concept of "what makes a good mom" and how a "good mom" goes about managing motherhood. Often, this involves seeking advice and information from outside resources, which for a majority of moms tends to be other moms and health care providers. This typically centers around other moms, so tapping into the mom-to-mom network is one of the most effective ways of getting wallet share from today's primary shopper and gatekeeper for household spending.
Moms are defined in most of this report as female parents with children under 18 living in the home. Another definition of "mom," used to a lesser extent in this report, is females aged 15-44, or women of child bearing years, as defined by the US Census Bureau.