Millennials are coming of age as the new consumer generation
Marketers are hard at work to collect data and gain insight into the buying patterns of this up-and-coming customer bracket. A new study by Influence Central of single, childless Millennial women revealed much useful information about the purchasing path of that demographic. However, Influence Central was curious to find out how having a child changed the consumer behavior of Millennial women, so they conducted a follow up study in 2015 comparing Millennial moms to childless Millennials.
The results revealed that parenting significantly changes consumer behavior, including how moms research and look for products online and offline, and what influences their buying decisions. After having a baby, a Millennial’s consumer behavior begins to look less like other childless Millennials and more like other moms from any generation. After having a baby, Millennial moms care more about brand honestly, transparency, friendliness, and social consciousness than non-moms, who care most about affordability. Only half of all Millennial women, with or without children, considered themselves loyal to their brands. Only one third of Millennial moms are still buying the products that they grew up with.
Tech usage increases when a Millennial woman has a baby
More moms than non-moms have smarthones; 95 percent of moms have a personal computer and 90 percent of them have a tablet as well.
Moms are logging online to gain parenting and medical advice, to keep the extended family updated about their kids’ activities, and to find ideas for fun, child-friendly activities.
Moms are highly active on Facebook, Instaram, Twitter, and Pinterest, and use social media more than non-moms. for expressing opinions, connecting with community and family, and for getting and giving advice and brand recommendations. Millennial women reported that after having a child, they followed brands on social media more, used smartphones, tablets, and streaming services more, and made more mobile purchases.
Millennial moms are more engaged with brands online
While only 58 percent of childless Millennial women follow brands on social media, a full 100 percent of surveyed moms did the same.
In general, Millennial moms are more engaged with brands online, do more product research online, and are more influenced by blogs and online reviews and recommendations than their childless counterparts. More than half of moms always research products before purchasing. Moms tend to trust blogs over other sources, and in particular, appreciate first-hand accounts, personal anecdotes, and highly detailed reviews.
Moms like to find reviews from people they resonate with because they have similar lifestyles and experiences. Childless Millennial women seem to care less about personal reviews and more about hard facts. Moms are also significantly more likely to write a review themselves, with 90 percent of surveyed moms responding that they post reviews often or occasionally.
To summarize, after a Millennial woman has a baby, she is much more likely to engage with brands online, to use the Internet to research products, to be influenced by personal accounts on social media, and to make mobile purchases. If your customer base includes Millennial moms, take note.
#MillennialMoms
