Digital moms are less likely than non-moms (i.e., other online women) to use social networking sites on a regular basis, but moms who do are more likely to interact with brands and post their opinions about products and services on social sites and online forums, according to Forrester Research.
Some 47% of women age 18-50 are moms (defined in the study as US online women age 18-50 who are parents of a child younger than 18 living with them).
Though online moms are similar to non-mom peers in terms of basic demographics, mobile phone use, and attitudes about technology, as a distinct consumer segment they stand out in three primary ways, according to Forrester.
Overall, moms tend to…
- Be motivated by their families.
- Be concerned with saving money.
- Engage with social networking sites less frequently, but more thoughtfully (i.e., purposefully).
Below, additional findings from Forrester's North American Technographics Online Benchmark Survey.
Even though moms report household incomes slightly higher than those of non-moms, they are focused on their families' bottom lines:
- 60% of moms say price trumps brand name when buying goods and services.
- Moms are more likely than non-moms to signs up for free products or coupons online at least monthly, 53% vs. 40%.
Overall, moms tend to be less active online than non-moms. Among online women who participate in social media at least monthly:
- 65% of moms are Spectators, compared with 71% of non-moms: They read blogs, watch peer videos, and listen to podcasts at least once a month.
- 70% of moms are Joiners, compared with 72% of non-moms: They maintain a profile on a social networking site.
- An equal number of moms (42%) and non-moms (42%) are Conversationalists: They update their status and post updates on social sites.
Some 15% of moms are online, but don't participate in any form of social media, compared with 13% of non-moms.
Even so, because saving money and buying quality products for their families are so important to moms, they are more likely than non-moms to post their opinions of products and services via online channels.
For example, in the previous 12 months, moms have posted an average of 23 product reviews across their personal blogs, Facebook, and Twitter accounts, compared with only 19 by non-moms.*
Moreover, three out of five moms often tell their friends about products that interest them.
*Moms posted seven opinions on their own personal blogs, nine opinions on Facebook, and seven reviews on Twitter, compared with six, eight, and five for non-moms, respectively.
About the data: Findings are from Forrester's North American Technographics Online Benchmark Survey (2Q10) of 26,913 US online adults age 18-88 was fielded in April 2010. Forrester weighted the data by age, gender, income, broadband adoption, and region to demographically represent the adult US online population.
