Fast Facts

Explore the State of Mom

Moms & Dads*
Moms are more likely than dads to take off from work to care for a sick child (62% vs. 47%).
More moms than dads believe their families would find it difficult to manage everyday activities if they became sick (84% vs. 63%).
More moms than dads are relied on to be in charge of their family’s healthcare related decisions (90% vs. 64%).
*For this study, moms and dads are defined as parents with children <18 living in the household. TNS Global conducted the online survey among a nationally representative sample of 2,500 Americans ages 18 and over. The survey was fielded June 21 to June 22, 2011, and has a margin of error of +/-2.0% at the 95% confidence level.
 
Moms in the Workforce
71% of mothers with older children (6 to 17 years of age, none younger) participate in the workforce.
Source: Current Population Survey, Bureau of Census for the Bureau of Labor Statistics
 
Modern Moms vs. the General Population
34% of American households are home to kids under 18, but are responsible for half of all purchases of cereal, juice, fresh meat and prepared foods.
Moms in these households are 19% more likely than the general population to engage in social networking, become a fan of or follow a brand (31% more likely), become a fan or follow a celebrity (24% more likely), and comment on others postings (27% more likely).
Moms account for one-fourth of all video streams occuring on social networks, and are also more likely to post their own content.
Moms make up more than one-fifth of online video viewers and spent an average of 258 minutes viewing online video in March 2011. Compared to overall usage in the US, Moms spent 25% more time, about 52 minutes longer on average, viewing online video from Home PCs.
In broadcast primetime, ad recall levels are 8% lower among moms 25-54 than non-moms of the same age and the general population. A heavy focus on products/services tends to reduce ad effectiveness among moms.
Source: Neilsen Company Study, May 2011
 
Moms & Social Media
U.S. moms spend an average of $822 on gadgetry each year and account for more than half of their household’s total consumer-electronics spending.
Moms who post information online about electronics tend to be affluent and interested in technology. Half are early adapters, and one in three has a household income of $75,000 or more.
Moms favor social media sites including blogs, message boards and product fan pages to research products and get firsthand product reviews and recommendations.
A third of moms queried said they have posted reviews, opinions or experience about electronics products and retailers in the past year, compared to just a quarter of all women online.
84% of moms visit social media sites like Facebook, versus 74% of all adults.
65% visit social video sites like YouTube versus 56% of adults.
A little under half visit product review sites versus 38% of adults.
The biggest gap was 44% of moms who visit blogs versus 33% of adults.
Source: Consumer Electronics Assoc., Influencing CE Purchases, December 2010
Word-of-Mouth Has The Greatest Effect on Moms
63% believe word-of-mouth received is credible.
56% are likely to pass along to others.
55% are more likely to purchase suggested product.
39% are likely to seek out information.
Source: Keller Fay study, September 2010
New and expectant moms, as part of the demographic segment of “women in transition,”
Are more likely to be a member of social networks.
Have 43% more friends on social sites.
Are more likely to recommend brand and pass along coupons.
Source: Oxygen/NBC Universal Research, Fall 2010
Moms, Kids and the Internet
In a survey conducted of nearly 1,000 moms of kids aged 8 to 13 years about their children's online behavior and why they worry about their actions online:
Moms worry that their children may be exposed to inappropriate content and "stranger danger."
61% Moms worry about their child unknowingly posting personal information
40% fear their child might post information online that can never be removed or deleted
30% worry their kids might lie about their age
23% fear their child may be involved in cyber-bulling behavior
55% of Moms feel acutely aware that colleges search online for background information when kids apply to college. Awareness shifts closer to 60% as kids enter junior high/high school
Most children who spend time on social networking or gaming sites do not play unsupervised. Nearly 70% of Moms retain control of where and when their 8-13-year-old children play.
Source: Mom Central Consulting, 2010
Moms, Kids and TV
In a survey conducted of over 400 moms who have children under the age of 12:
75% of respondents indicated they watch certain shows with their children.
50% of respondents indicated that they're likely also doing other things while watching television with their children. (They're watching, but they're not likely to be engaged.)
Women with very small children indicated that it was "impossible for anyone to watch anything in the house when the kids are up" and women with older children experienced phases of "family TV viewing" where they watched shows targeted to their kids' age group between ages 4-7.
The respondents indicated that ultimately they can only truly engage in what's on the television when their children aren't present.
81% stated that they have "their shows" that they watch during what they deem to be their "me time."
Women are also prone to "time-shift" their preferred programming by DVRing their favorite shows or visiting On Demand, network websites and Hulu.com to re-watch shows or catch episodes they've missed.
Source: Brunner Advertising Survey, 2010
Moms' Beliefs
While 89% of Moms say failure is healthy for their child, 40% would use a magic wand to keep their child from failing.
Worries about safety extend well beyond the playground and backyard, and 47% of Moms indicated they spy on their children's electronic accounts (mobile texting, email, Facebook) to make sure everything is okay.
One out of every four Moms states she needs to be involved in everything her child does. Among Moms of older, college-bound or college-age kids, 48% feel anxious about their children making decisions on their own and 27% worry that their child will not make the right decisions unless Mom is there to help every step of the way. This involvement continues well into the college years with 33% of Moms helping college-age kids pick their classes.
Source: Mom Central Consulting, December 2009 report
The State of Mom continually changes:
The US Census estimates that there are 82.5 million mothers of all ages in the US, from Baby Boomer "soccer moms" to the Gen X and Echo Boom "iMom."
The Moms market is continually self-renewing; approximately 4 million babies are born each year, 40% are to first-time mothers.
Not all moms are created equally. Many demographic factors impact the moms market, including a trend towards delayed childbirth, shifts in household composition, labor force participation, and a more ethnically diverse population.
Moms are Online!
89% of household moms use the Internet at least twice a day.
86% rely on search engines to find Web information.
70% use search engines to research an online purchase.
57% use Google, Yahoo and other search engines study up on offline buys.
64% use search engines to locate brick-and-mortar stores for their shopping.
72% use search engines to compare CPG prices at different outlets.
71% reported using online search to turn up product information.
71% searched to find retail locations.
Source: Searcher Moms: A Search Behavior and User Study, DoubleClick, 2007
Moms spend more than their share!
Moms are 44% of the women's market, but they account for:
55% of spending on consumer electronics.
51% of spending on food.
49% of spending on health & beauty aids.
48% of spending on home furnishings.
47% of spending on clothing.
Source: MRI Fall 2004

The following statistics were sourced from Trillion Dollar Moms by Maria T. Bailey & Bonnie Worthy Ulman:

Working Mothers

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, 72 % of mothers with children under 18 are in the workforce.
In 2001, women held almost half of all high paying 'executive, administrative and managerial occupations.
Each day, more than 25 millions mothers work, in addition to performing their duties as a mother, wife or homemaker.
Moms and Advertising
Only 20 % of mothers said that advertisers were doing a good job connecting with mothers. Another 70 % said that marketers are not focused on moms in their advertising and 30 % said that they see ads that offend them.
On average, even the busiest moms say they read 4.1 magazines a month, with at least two on these titles delivered to their mailboxes.
We asked moms if they would rather get information from a celebrity mom or an experienced mom like themselves. 67 % said they would more likely turn to a peer mom.
Moms Online
80% of moms tell us they go online to do their consumer research.
A study commissioned by the Walt Disney Group's Disney Online, conducted by C&R Research, reports that there are 31 million moms online.
A recent Gallop poll reported that in the U.S. there are an estimated 21.2 million Web-surfing mothers .
Moms are not only surfing the Web and spending money, they are also spending more time on the Internet than they are watching television. Research shows that 88% of moms said they rely on the Web for parental guidance, advice, and ideas for raising their children. 86% said they made an online purchase, while 85% said they clicked on an online ad, and 95% said they are online at least once a day.
A 2004 study conducted by Opinion Research Corporation for America Online found that 67% of moms use the Internet for product research.
 
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Quote from Bonnie Worthy Ulman, Co -Author, Trillion Dollar Moms
"It's no secret that moms do their research online, whether for purchases or family healthcare," says Bonnie Worthy Ulman , founder and principal of The Haystack Group and co-author of Trillion Dollar Moms: Marketing to a New Generation of Mothers. "However, the virtual world is also a place where moms are making important connections with other mothers. Although, these women may never meet face to face, they have tremendous influence over product trial, brand preference and purchasing decisions."
What determines where mom goes to spend all that money?

What She Cares About
% Care
Easy-to-find brands that other moms recommend
91%
Answers to her questions before she goes to the store
89%
What She Doesn't Care About
% Don't Care
Personal shopper
50%
Automatic re-ordering online
32%
Source: The Mom Connection 2005

But she's not who you may think she is, and the old clichés no longer apply ! She may have a lot on her plate, but she DOESN'T feel trapped or resentful:

 
Index Points Below Average Score
I feel like a short-order cook: everyone wants different food
-38
I feel like a prisoner to my child's schedule
-47
I feel guilty spending time with my child instead of doing housework
-49
I feel like I'm always in the car
-54
I feel guilty when my husband helps with housework because I don't contribute to the family finances
-67
Source: Parenting's What Really Matters To Mom 2004

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