Although brand trust is a key factor in boosting customer loyalty, a new study reveals that price is a key driver of purchases among a developing category of moms. In the study titled “Digital Moms: A Demographic Overview,” Forrester Research provided in-depth infographics regarding the online behaviors and shopping patterns of today’s technology-driven mothers.
Survey respondents were drawn from Forrester’s North American Technographics Online Benchmark Survey, Q2 2010 (US), and were separated into two categories: “moms” and “non-moms.” “Moms” are defined as U.S. online females between the ages of 18 and 50 who have at least one child under the age of 18 living with them. “Non-moms” are described as U.S. online females within the same age range who do not have a child under 18 living with them. Overall, a majority of moms surveyed were older than non-moms — 63% were Gen X (between the ages of 31 and 44), while 25% were Gen Y (between the ages of 18 and 30). Only 13% of surveyed moms were categorized as Young Boomers between 45 and 54 years old.
Digital moms focus more on finding deals and sales, rather than focusing on specific brands, Reineke Reitsma, VP-Research Director of Data for Forrester Research told Retail TouchPoints. “They [consumers] rationalize their own loyalty by saying they really like a brand,” she said. “But when they find a great offer they compromise it.” The study revealed that moms were more likely to spend time finding the better buys (47%), tapping into price comparison sites (19%) and buying from online auction sites like eBay (20%).
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While digital moms spent approximately $43 more online every three months than non-moms, 60% of moms agreed that price is more important than brand reputation and recognition. Digital moms also were more eager to sign up for free products and/or online coupons (53%) versus non-moms (43%).
Reitsma noted that digital moms were highly influenced by their families, while non-moms were primarily motivated by entertainment and their careers. “Moms are very price-sensitive, they love coupons, but they also want what is best for their families,” she said. “About 40% of moms said they would pay more for a product or service if it saved them time or hassle. This is interesting because they like discounts, but if it’s a product or service that really helps them, then they are open to spending.”
Although surveyed moms were less likely than non-moms to participate in Internet-centric activities such as watching TV while browsing the Web (57% vs. 65%), watching videos about their favorite media outlets (7% vs. 10%) or listening to music on their laptop or PC (34% vs. 46%), moms were generally more engaged in their online behaviors, according to Reitsma. “One of the things that is very interesting is that moms are extremely active through their social networks,” she said. “About 40% are checking their social networking sites daily, and you see that moving to mobile Internet.”
Digital moms were primarily categorized as “joiners” (70%) who maintain social network profiles and “spectators” (65%) who read blogs, watch peer videos and listen to podcasts. Nearly half (42%) of digital moms also were steady “conversationalists” who consistently update their statuses and post updates.
