Millennial Moms Vs. Established Moms: Know The Difference
August 10, 2016
Moms are on top of it right now. Recent estimates show that American moms control approximately $2.1 trillion of spending per year, or 85% of household income. Not surprisingly, this is a key demographic for many brands.
As we all know, the role of women has changed substantially over the past few generations. As a result, today’s moms are empowered by a different set of tools and are confronted with a different set of obstacles. An obvious example is access to the Internet, through which moms have unrestricted access to information, tools and communities.
In the past, brands have attempted to target moms by separating them solely based on the stringent lines of demographic details, such as age, household income, and ethnicity. But we know that is the wrong approach.
Moms today are defined by so much more. They have developed identities based on professional goals, friends, interests, hobbies, and – of course – family. Taking these characteristics into consideration, our research in partnership with Women’s Marketing, Inc revealed key differences between the Millennial Mom and the Established Mom.
Millennial Mom
She values: Community. Solutions. Experience. Convenience.
This Enterprising Mom is tech-savvy, economical and nurturing. The key here is efficiency. This mom is fully competent in using her own personal computer along with a large variety of mobile apps. She values that they offer her easy solutions to everyday activities. Not only is this mom skilled at work, but she’s also a master at play. She came of age amid economic panic, so she loves the ability to use technology to find the best shopping deals, and always checks in on discount apps like Groupon and StubHub.
One of the key ways to target moms, especially new moms, is to provide them with a way to more effectively manage their long list of responsibilities (and even their kids’ long list of obligations). Even small time-savers can be incredibly useful. Can you provide early-education reading games for her kindergartener? Can you help her automate the grocery-shopping process? Can you enable her to access directions to her off-site work meeting?
Established Mom
She values: Exploration. Stability. Self-Awareness. Technology.
This Established Mom may look like she’s headed toward an empty nest, but her life is nothing but full. The key here is independence. Although her chicks have left the nest, she continues to evolve. This mother has already independently taken to massively popular sites like Twitter and Pinterest, but she’s excited to discover and try new tech things – usually introduced by her children.
What makes this woman feel the most grounded is feeling like she has full control and maintenance over her life. With all of her passion for staying up to date, she’s incorporated the regular use of a smartphone and tablet into her everyday life. Shopping for her is all about preserving a collection of things that she loves while layering in a few new pieces. She’s found her favorite online boutiques, where she shops at least once a week.
By Tina Wells
About the author: Tina Wells, founder and CEO, Buzz Marketing Group
Courtesy of mediapost