Mums like to click and chat

4Aug09

From Adnews magazine 31 July 2009

Nearly 80% of surveyed young Australian mums-to-be use the internet to research a purchase, according to a study conducted by Kidspot.

The online research surveyed 2982 Australian woman who were either mothers or or pregnant in March 2009.

In other findings from the survey, 65% of respondents have re-considered grocery brands purchased since becoming a mum.

The largest brand transience was in laundry soap and spot removers, with 55% either changing brands or intending to do so in this category after becoming pregnant of having children.

Informing 89% of young mothers’ purchase decision, word-of-mouth is the most dominant influence, with online second at 53% way ahead of TV (34%) and magazines (29%).

Surfing online is a daily habit for 87% of young mums and 79% use it to research a purchase they are considering . Only 9% of mums agree the internet does not have a role when considering a purchase.

“There is no doubt that the internet is mums’ mass media,” say Kidspot global chief executive Katie May.

“It is clear that mums seek and give advice on all categories of products and service online. Although food and recipes lead the pack with 94% of mums sharing advice in this area, even things like mobile phones and calling plans are part of the conversation. The demographic uses online to connect and converse on far more than nappies,” May says.

When asked what brand they would recommend to others online, Aldi topped the poll, ahead of Huggies and Pumpkin Patch.

Essential Baby general manager Melina Cruickshank says female grocery buyers canvas both friends directly or strangers online to research purchase decisions.

Cruickshank cites the recent Nielsen Online Consumer Survey, which reveals that while 93% of Australians most trust recommendations from people they know, 64% are happy to draw upon the opinions of people on the internet.

“When these two groups come together, online word-of-mouth advice emerges as a powerful influencer on the household purse strings,” Cruickshank says.

“Female grocery buyers are turning to other mums online to help them decide which products and services will get them the best value-for-money in today’s tough economic climate.”

Mum-to-mum advice on what goes into the household shopping basket is becoming even more influential as discretionary spending tightens, with mums really twice as likely as the other Australians to offer advice to their peers, according to the Nielsen research.
Savvy advertisers are clearly tapping into this trend by targeting female grocery buyers within online communities and forums with the likes of sponsored blogger product reviews becoming more prevalent, Cruickshank says.

“Marketers value the results because the authentic feedback they get is from a highly-engaged and targeted audience segment,” she says. “At a time when trust is the name of the game, the role of online mum-to-mum advice is only going to get more potent.”

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