The U.S. Moms Market 2010, 3rd Edition

The U.S. Mom Market has received much discussion over the last 10 years since Packaged Facts first published a comprehensive report on the market. Moms continue to dominate the household dollars and brands continue to try to meet their needs. This report takes a different look at Moms than the current buzz in the market. It focuses on the fundamentals of Moms like market size, changes in demographics and details around who is and will become a Mom in the near and distant future.

The report is divided into two parts: The Market Fundamentals and The Market Opportunities. Within the fundamentals you will understand the facts about Moms and children. You will also get to know Mom better by looking at the different ‘stages’ she goes through as a mother of children at varying ages. Additionally, you will step inside her mind to understand not how she is using her cell phone or how much time she spends on the internet, but what she worries about and/or what motivates her.

The second part of the report takes macro trends and applies them to the Mom Market and explores the resulting micro trends. Highlighting the most influential shifts in the U.S.: Finances, Ethnicity, Eco-Awareness and Technology, the report is filled with specific insights, implications and examples of opportunities for brands.

Within every chapter the report includes insights and implications so that once you put the report down you will have ideas, plans and actions in mind. Featured within the chapters are both secondary research and primary research done exclusively for the report. Highlights include a look at brand attribute importance by Moms vs. females overall and by Moms across different ethnic groups. Additionally, commentary on new products in the market coming directly from Moms is included for understanding and distillation.

The report is 100 pages long, includes over 40 charts and tables from the CDC, The Census Bureau, the Pew Research Center, Silver Stork Research and others. One highlight of the report is several word clouds which illustrate directly what Moms have to say … word for word.

The report was written for Packaged Facts by Silver Stork Research, the author of several reports on the U.S. Mom Market.

Market Insights: A Selection From The Report

GENERATIONS COLLIDE:

Over the last decade, American society has seen Baby Boomers move into retirement, Gen Xers become responsible adults and, more recently, Gen Y take on parenthood and Gen ‘Next’ place their mark formally on American culture.

When looking at who is giving birth, women are predominantly Gen X and Gen Y. While each generation has its unique characteristics, as mothers they blend many of the characteristics of different generations. She is a hybrid ….

• The Boomer Mom built the bridge to working motherhood and today almost half of all women who give birth return to work in less than 6 months
• The Gen X Mom who struggled (and still struggles) to strike the right work-life balance has given way to Gen Y Moms who tackle life holistically and are determined to make it work for them
• The strongly independent and self-confident Gen Y Mom who appreciates mothers of the past, but has set out to blaze her own ‘improved’ trail is completely open to new and different products and services for her baby and children … heritage of brands is just not that important.

FERTILITY RATES:
The current average fertility rate for women in the United States is 68.7 (number of births per 1000 women 15-44 years old). This number is very much an average and changes based on ethnicity, region and age of women. Specifically, fertility rates are:

• Lowest among non-Hispanic white women
• Highest among Hispanic women
• Highest among women 25-29
• Lowest in New England
• Highest in the central and western states
  

The longer a woman is a Mom her perspective changes and shifts toward more practical choices. However, in many cases she keeps some of her foundational attitudes and blends a new perspective as she adds the priority of children:

• Moms like the little extras more than women overall
• Moms are less likely to be ‘footloose and fancy free’ and just enjoy life
• Moms worry more about the future
• Moms overall feel as secure financially as women without children

“On my mind”

One area of growing opportunity for marketers is Moms’ heightened interest in causes. Based on data from the Silver Stork Panel Application, Moms are more likely today to be interested and take action based on a cause then they were 5 years ago. What the causes are is very important, but Moms are opening their minds and wallets if done correctly to support things that are important to her.