Shopping Habits of Parents of Tomorrow Today - Social Media Masters Summit
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Learn valuable insights from babycenter.com’s latest research on Millennial Moms, Millennial Parents, and Older Gen Z parents (18 – 24)- You’ll learn what grabs their attention, dollars and loyalty.
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Shopping Habits of Parents of Tomorrow Today - Social Media Masters Summit
- 1. © BabyCenter, LLC. Confidential. All rights reserved. Creating real connections for your brand with real parents Parents of Tomorrow, Today Julie Michaelson, Head of Global Sales June 2017
- 2. © BabyCenter, LLC. Confidential. All rights reserved. . BabyCenter by the numbers 50 million strong More than 16 million in the US alone 20 years of data #1 resource Proprietary data and insights Millennials and Gen Z Moms “would be lost without” BabyCenter Source: comScore Media Metrix, May 2017; BabyCenter Brand Affinity Study, 2017; BabyCenter internal data, 2017.
- 3. © BabyCenter, LLC. Confidential. All rights reserved. . Source: US Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 2016. Gen X 1965-1979 Age: 38-52 Population: 61MM Millennial 1980-1994 Age: 23-37 Population: 65MM Gen Z 1995-2010 Age: 7-22 Population: 67MM
- 4. © BabyCenter, LLC. Confidential. All rights reserved. . Why Generation Z matters Source: 8 Key Differences between Gen Z and Millennials, Huffington Post, 2016; “Activities of Kids and Teens,” Mintel Reports, November 2013; High Growth Z Generation $50 Billion Retail Market Larger Than Millennials, Mobile Ecommerce, November 2016; CDC National Vital Statistics Report, 2015. $600B Influence in family spending $44B Contribute to US economy 45% of all new parents will be Gen Z. (Today, 78% are Millennials) By 2022
- 5. © BabyCenter, LLC. Confidential. All rights reserved. . Everything changes when a woman becomes a Mom She spends her time differently Her priorities shift Source: 2015 State of Modern Motherhood, BabyCenter Brand Labs Insights, 2015 (among Millennial Moms). -13 hours for herself +9 hours parenting time Before After 81% Romance 98% Child’s well-being 64% Fashion 47% Romance (-42%) 63% Me Time 24% Fashion (-62%) 50% Fitness 24% Me Time (-62%) 24% Fitness (-52%)
- 6. © BabyCenter, LLC. Confidential. All rights reserved. . Priorities among the latest generation of dads are changing, too Source: The Lean-In Dads: Involved, Influential, and a True Partner in Parenting, BabyCenter Brand Labs Insights, 2017. Put family before work – most of the time 58% 47% Would sacrifice a promotion to spend more time with family
- 7. © BabyCenter, LLC. Confidential. All rights reserved. . 96% Good quality 95% Safe 95% Easy to use 84% Low price % that consider the following criteria somewhat or very important in brands they love: Regardless of generation, parents prioritize the same buying criteria Source: Perception vs. Reality, BabyCenter 21st Century Mom® Insights Series, April 2016.
- 8. © BabyCenter, LLC. Confidential. All rights reserved. . Before Mom knows best, other parents and experts do Source: Shopping Behaviors & Mom’s Path to Purchase. BabyCenter 21st Century Mom® Insights Series, October 2016 75% 67% 70% 63% Recommended by parents Recommended by experts Q: Which of these criteria are important deciding the products and brands you will purchase? 25-34 18-24 Thinking back as a new mom, before I had the baby, I didn’t know what I needed. I just listened to moms and tried new brands, and trusted the ones that satisfied what I needed.
- 9. © BabyCenter, LLC. Confidential. All rights reserved. . Sources of influence change throughout the journey Source: BabyCenter 21st Century Mom® Insights Series: Shopping Behaviors & Mom’s Path to Purchase, October 2016 Q: Which of these criteria are important when deciding the products and brands you will purchase? 45% 55% 65% 75% 1st time pregnant 1st time 0-6 mos 1st time 6-12 mos 1st time 1-2 yrs Experienced mom Recommended by experts Recommended by parents Among parents 18-34:
- 10. © BabyCenter, LLC. Confidential. All rights reserved. . Source: The Internet of Things Empowers Parents, BabyCenter Brand Labs Insights, January 2017. 18 hours (18-24) vs. 11.7 hours (25-34) (Gen X, spends 10.2 hours) Older Gen Z Parents spend more time with media per day than older generations
- 11. © BabyCenter, LLC. Confidential. All rights reserved. . Parents are buying into the Internet of Things Source: The Internet of Things Empowers Parents, BabyCenter Brand Labs Insights, January 2017. Over half of 18-24 year old parents that own any IoT device agree: “It makes me a better parent.” (compared to 1 in 3 parents 25+) % IoT device ownership among parents 18-34 47%
- 12. © BabyCenter, LLC. Confidential. All rights reserved. . Source: True Stories of the Modern Family: How Brands & Media Navigate the New Normal, BabyCenter 21st Century Mom® Insights Series, in partnership with YouGov, March 2016. Connected, yet conflicted Amongst parents 25 or younger: The Internet has invaded our homes and is changing (destroying) the way we communicate with each other. I think families rely on TV and media a little too much and should take time out to do more things together.
- 13. © BabyCenter, LLC. Confidential. All rights reserved. . Modern parents expect brands to respect their values Source: True Stories of the Modern Family: How Brands & Media Navigate the New Normal, BabyCenter 21st Century Mom® Insights Series, in partnership with YouGov, March 2016. Q: When it comes to the brands you purchase, how important or unimportant are the following in helping you decide on your purchases? (Top 2 box, % somewhat or very important) 84% 77% 63% 73% 69% 52% A brand that shares my values A brand that respects all types of families A brand that reflects diversity in advertising 18-24 25-34
- 14. © BabyCenter, LLC. Confidential. All rights reserved. . They want to see their reality reflected back at them Source: True Stories of the Modern Family: How Brands & Media Navigate the New Normal, BabyCenter 21st Century Mom® Insights Series, in partnership with YouGov, March 2016. 8 in 10 18-24 year old parents say it’s important for brands to realistically reflect parenting today (vs. 7 in 10 25-34 year olds) 6 in 10 18-24 year-old moms say they pay more attention to ads that feature an image of a real mom (+22% more than older generations)
- 15. © BabyCenter, LLC. Confidential. All rights reserved. . To make meaningful connections, brands must abandon old stereotypes Source: The Lean in Dad: Involved, Influential, and a True Partner in Parenting, BabyCenter Brand Labs Insights, March 2017. % of moms that strongly agree: Dads are taking on more responsibility at home – raising kids and doing housework 36% 19% Yet only 1 in 5 strongly agree that they are portrayed as doing their fair share in advertising
- 16. © BabyCenter, LLC. Confidential. All rights reserved. . How to win with parents today, and tomorrow Source: Parents of Tomorrow, Today, BabyCenter Brand Labs Insights, 2017. Modern parents have a nuanced relationship with media and technology They spend 6 additional hours per day with media, yet long for connectivity IRL – what do you offer of value? Parents expect brands to respect their values Hold a mirror up on the real world to be the truest reflection of your consumers Their top three criteria for brands are universal and non-negotiable To become a part of parents’ consideration set, “quality,” “safety,” “easy to use” are table stakes
- 17. Contact us at We believe in your brand. Trust us to bring your story to parents all over the world. Thank You Contact us at: BabyCenterBrandLabs.com
Editor's Notes
- Before we get into it, allow me a minute to introduce who BabyCenter is. We are a global brand. And in fact, just hit 50 million monthly unique users. We have 11 owned and operated properties – from Brazil to US to UK – and are available in 9 different languages. 17 million of those 50 million monthly uniques happen on our US site alone. 20 years of data means we have proprietary insights other networks and agencies don’t have. We know who parents are, who they trust, and what they expect from brands. US moms’ tell us that we are her #1 go-to resource – the resource she’d be lost without. And this is among all moms 18-34. Even those that straddle the Gen Z/Millennial demographic. Right now, BabyCenter reaches more older Gen Z parents than any other pregnancy and parenting brand (3.3 MM). And, we have the highest reach among Millennials, too.
- I’m here today to talk about parents of today, and tomorrow. Brands are focused on Millennials. And many are turning their attention to Gen Z – even BabyCenter. Before we get into any of the data, let’s ground ourselves on who we are talking about when we speak about the different generations. For our talk today, we are defining Gen X as women born between 1965-1979. According to census data, the total population of this cohort is 61MM. Millennials, are those born between 1980 and 1994. Population is 65MM. Next is Gen Z, born in 1995 to 2010 with a population of 67MM. At BabyCenter, we are tracking the next generation of parents closely. Why?...
- Beside the sheer number of Gen Z’ers (67MM), they matter because they are currently contributing $44B to the American economy. And, they influence $600 billion in spending that maps back to the family. And while today this population only makes up approximately 15% of parents in the US, in the next 5 years they will be squarely in the new parenting demographic, making up 45% of all new parents. So even for Gen Z’ers that aren’t parents yet, their concept of parenting is gelling TODAY, based on what they observe. So it’s no surprise that brands and publishers are paying attention to this audience segment.
- While there are nuances Regardless of generation (and if there are any parents in the audience, I’m sure you’ll agree) that becoming a mom or dad changes everything. Among moms in particular – their time is no longer their own. 9 hours of parenting responsibilities added to her day mean 13 fewer hours for herself. Taking a cue from what we’re seeing among the Millennial generation, this is what we know is important. Before becoming a mom, romance ranked highest in her priorities. Then fashion, followed by ‘me time’ and fitness. Now that she’s a mom, her child becomes the most important thing to her. 98% say the well being of her top priority (and believe me, you don’t want to meet the 2% of our survey respondents who had a different answer). Everything else pales in comparison: Only 47% say their top priority is romance (a 42% decline) And we see similar declines for Fashion, me-time and fitness. Just to be clear this does not mean that millennial moms don’t care about keeping in shape and looking good – they are probably more fashionable as new moms. It’s just that parenting becomes a higher priority to them.
- The change is happening for both women and men. The idea that dads were once solely focused on providing financial support for their children needs to be tossed. Here we see a great example of the shift from a post in our community. DonnaRomma posted a pic of her husband with baby at the doctor’s office. She posted, “daddy/daughter at the doctors office. He’s been great with her. I pump the milk and he cleans the poop That’s our arrangement while he’s on leave.” Our study revealed that 58% of dads surveyed placed family before work all or most of the time. And 47% say they’d sacrifice a promotion at work if it meant spending less time with the family.
- Regardless of a parent’s generation, Moms prioritize the same buying criteria. For a brand to be loved, the products must be good quality, safe, easy to use, and affordable. These criteria are the cost of doing business with moms. Consider these criteria table stakes. And while price drives preference, there’s something we know about this and the next generation of parents…
- With very little time, and for first time parents in particular, we see their heavy reliance on other parents and experts for product and brand recommendations. We like to say that before mom knows best, other parents and experts do. Other parents influence what they buy. You can that 3 out of 4 older gen Z parents look for products recommended by other parents. More so than their millennial counterparts. And recommended by experts is important too. Even more so for the next generation of parents. One of our moms told us that before she had her baby, she didn’t know what she needed. She just listened to other moms, tried new brands,
- Parenthood is not a stagnant state. Depending on who you want to reach, brands should lean into recommenations.
- They are spending about 6 more hours a day. Most of that is coming from video (almost 3 hours more than Millennials per day) and on mobile.
- And, they are adopting new delivery mechanisms. We see that parents are buying into the Internet of Things. Both Gen Z and Millennials. Parents feel that these devices make them better moms and dads – younger ones, in particular. So all of this is quite interesting, when we put into context of what else we learned about this newer generation of parents…
- They seem to be connected, yet conflicted. And have a love-hate relationship with media and technology. While older Gen Z parents spend over 6+ hours A DAY with media and technology than Millennials, they seem to pine for the good ‘old days. We asked parents, “Compared to the 80’s and 90’s, in what ways, if at all, do you think families have changed?” When compared to older generations, parents 25 and younger commented on the influence (and often negative, at that) of media and technology. One commented that the Internet has invaded our homes and DESTROYING the way we communicate with each other. Another says that families should take more time to do things together. What we’re seeing is FOMO (fear of missing out) vs. a media vacation. It’s a complicated relationship. It’s interesting then that Not surprising then that “Friends” is a favorite show among 20-year olds. Why? Because they pine for the days when life seemed ‘easier’. It’s life before cell phones. At the heart of the show is a group of people that show up and talk – a behavior that’s since evolved b/c of phones. The show is notable for what it doesn’t encompass – social, media, smartphones, student debt, tinder. In 2016, we tweet. We text. We Vine. We swipe right. Friends, of course, reflects none of this. (Mentions of the internet are limited to very occasional high jinks, like Chandler meeting a woman online who turned out to be his ex-girlfriend Janice.) nostalgic for that moment right before the internet became all-encompassing, when you could only ever hang out with your friends in real life — and you never said IRL, because what other life would you be talking about, if not your “real” one? “Where nowadays we’ll catch up really quickly, but everyone’s always on their phones. Back then, it’s more of a person-to-person relationship, instead of through technology.” In hindsight, that era seems idyllic by comparison: a fantasy life where friends gather on a sofa, not on WhatsApp. Jennifer Aniston was just quotes as saying modern-day 'Friends' would just be the gang on their phones.
- So even though over half of father’s today would put family before work, and the next generation of father’s further do away with “Mom” vs. “Dad” roles, many brands have choses to completely portray dads as absent from the parenting process. 36% of moms agree that dads are taking on more responsibility at home – everything from raising the kids to doing housework. Yet only half (19%) agree they are portrayed as doing their fair share in ads.