Mums are increasingly reliant on their smartphones throughout the purchasing process, with a nearly 100% increase in using smartphones to get product ideas, compare prices, and decide where to buy compared to 2011. The report found that mums are 2.5 times more likely than the general population to check social media on their phones and over half regard their smartphone as an essential parenting tool. Mums also spend more time on social media like Facebook, YouTube, and Tumblr on average compared to the general population.

1. Mobile Mum Report 2013
Baby Centre
“Since the 2011 Mobile Mum study, mobile
has become even more critical throughout
the path to purchase, with nearly a 100%
increase when using a smartphone across
all aspects - from getting product ideas (up
by 114%); to comparing prices (up by
113%); and deciding where to buy (100%
increase)”
Conducted in October 2013 with 1,480 mums. Used social media diaries from 14 new and expectant moms, and a behavioural and secondary
analysis with comScore covering e-commerce habits and social analytics.

2. Mums are
2.5 times
more likely to prefer
checking social media on their phone
compared to the general population.

3. Rapid smartphone adoption is now at 87%
amongst UK mums.

4. Over half
of mums regard their
smartphone as an ‘essential tool’
when it comes to parenting.
NB. 41% of mums now own a tablet device, an increase of 128% since July 2012.

5. Nearly three in five say their phone helps to
reduce the isolation of new motherhood.
41% describe their smartphone
as their ‘backup brain’.

6. Nearly half
of mums use their mobile for
banking and finance.
28%
61%
75%
54%
60%
49%
Children’s apps
Productivity tools such as calendars
Searching for information
Directions
Reading the news
Shopping
NB. In 2011, mums’ top activities were mostly
about
personal
enjoyment:
social
networking, games, weather, shopping, health

7. Mums are 15% more likely to use social media
regularly compared to the general population, on
average spending:
8.0 hours a month on Facebook
5.1 hours a month on YouTube
4.4 hours a month on Tumblr

8. Well over half of mums say checking
Facebook is the very first thing they do when they
wake up in the morning (compared to a quarter
of the general population).

9. 68% of mums say that they use parenting
social media platforms for brand and product
recommendations.
97% of the fans of
Pinterest’s Facebook page
are women.
80% of Pinterest users are
women, while 50% of all
Pinterest users have
children.

10. Mums are 34% more likely
to spend online than the
average UK online adult.
Mums spend more when they
shop online - quarterly online
spending total per mum is
£251 versus £222 for the
general online population.
Clothing and shoes are the
most popular mobile
purchase.

11. Half of mums have bought something because
a brand posted a voucher or shared an offer on a
social network.
In the 30 days leading up to
the survey:
Half of mums had shopped
online using their mobiles.
Of those who did, two thirds
visited a retailer’s site and over
half (57%) searched for
information about a particular
product on their mobile.

12. Over a quarter of
mums say that they
have made a
purchase because
they saw a sponsored
ad on a social
network.
Getting the best
price or a discount
voucher are key
drivers to mobile
shopping.