Connecting with Today’s Super Consumers: Mobile Moms

From parenting to beauty habits and from mobile devices to social media behaviors, moms are driving and shaping the new digital world. With a do-it-all attitude, moms are not only taking care of their families but are also driving social media trends and smartphone usage. Moms are a critical audience for marketers, and understanding their mobile media behaviors and attitudes can help marketers to take advantage of the emerging trends. In the crowded marketing landscape, it’s been an increasingly challenging task to keep on top of moms’ media experiences.

Mobile moms are a critical target not only for their amazing buying power, but also for their incredible influence on others. So the question for every mobile marketer is “Are they doing enough in reaching moms in an effective and efficient manner? “

In partnership with Decision Fuel & On Device Research, InMobi uncovered the first truly global analysis of this highly influential demographic through our Global Mobile Media Consumption Study. Our study explores mobile media behaviors of Mothers, defined as female with children living at home, to provide advertisers with a deeper understanding of their media habits, purchase behaviors and receptivity towards mobile ads.

Moms Are Mobile Ninjas

Mobile moms globally spend an average of 6.2 hours per day consuming media content, with more of that time spent on mobile devices than any other platform. This generation now devotes an average of almost 2.3 hours per day to mobile media, which includes smartphone and tablets, pushing mobile usage ahead of television (1.4 hours) and desktop computers (1.4 hours).

Marketing takeaway: Marketers should create multiple touch points for mobile moms who are connected 24x7 across various the mobile media channels.

Moms: Media Multitaskers

It is well known that moms are efficient multitaskers across various activities, including work, home and family. 65% of global mobile moms’ multitask while watching TV, and they are mainly engaged in social activities followed by search, music and shopping.For most moms, multitasking is a mastered skill, and our study reveals that when it comes to media multitasking, nearly 3 out of 5 mobile mothers globally engage in dual screen activities (between TV and mobile), and they most typically engage in social networking activities, followed by research, music listening and shopping activities.

Marketing takeaway: Moms enjoy connected experiences which extend across the screens. It is important for marketers to develop strong multi-channel advertising strategies to provide connected information effectively across screens to improve moms’ perceptions about brands.

Mobile Moms Are Captivated by Smartphone

Mobile moms continue to contribute to the smartphone boom and are finding new ways to incorporate them into everyday life because of three convenience factors.Findings shows that 49% of users prefer mobile because “it’s easy to use,” 47% say that they use mobile most because “it’s constantly with them” and 29% agree that “mobile device is the most private way to consume information and communicate”. The report’s findings also indicate that mobile mothers spend 19% of their mobile media time on entertainment purposes, 18% on playing games, 17% interacting with social media and 12% on shopping

Marketing Takeaway: The mobile phone has become a constant companion among mobile mothers to indulge in music, entertainment, education and shopping activities. These factors are highly attractive to marketers, and they provide them a great opportunity to engage and influence mothers in a highly personalized consumer environment.

Mobile Apps and Moms

Apps and Moms are made for each other. Our study reveals the accelerated usage of mobile apps among mobile mothers; 28% of respondents have actively used 6-10 apps in the past 30 days, averaging 6.0 apps. According to our study, mobile mothers in Australia & US top the list in terms of active apps usage. Moms are always on the lookout for apps that are genuinely useful and not just for recreation.

Marketing Takeaway: Mobile Moms see value in many apps and how apps can be an integral part of their daily lives. Hence, it is important for brands to identify the value an app can provide before building it. Moms tend to clock lot of time with educational, lifestyle, social, shopping and game apps. It is important for brands to create or target apps that align with moms’ needs and lifestyles.

Mobile Devices Are Moms Personal Shopping Assistants

Moms are becoming increasingly comfortable using smartphones to look at offerings, discounts, product comparisons and mobile advertisements. Our study reveals that 56% of them are as comfortable with mobile advertising as they are with TV or online advertising. Our survey shows that 77% of mobile mothers feel that mobile advertising has introduced them to something new; 69% feel that it has provided them with better options, and 50% of mobile mothers say mobile ads have influenced their purchases. The data also highlights the importance of location-based advertising, with 69% of respondents claiming that mobile ads have helped them find something nearby, while 50% said mobile adverting has influenced in-store purchase decisions.

Marketing Takeaway: Mobile Ads influence mobile mothers’ decision processes. It is important that marketers engage moms in brand conversations. Marketers should utilize interactive rich media ads, which should be intuitive and unintrusive .

Moms Use of Smartphones for Mobile Commerce is Rising

Mobile has become essential throughout the path to purchase. Our survey clearly shows that moms are becoming more tech-savvy and are relying on mobile phones and wireless technology for m-commerce; they can shop and buy while in-store or on-the-go, wherever they are and whenever they need. They can purchase anything from to family items like clothing and household products to other products, such as consumer electronics, or services, such scheduling doctor’s appointments.

Mobile moms are a more empowered shopping group than ever. Our research indicates that 84% of mobile mothers plan to conduct mobile commerce in the next 12 months, an 11% increase from today.

Marketing Takeaway: Mobile mom’s dependencies on mobile shopping due to their busy lives, provides an opportunity for marketers to make them the ideal target for advertising. Marketers should look to serve context- sensitive information and engage moms across the purchase funnel.

What Mobile Moms Mean For Marketers:

The fact that mobile is mainstream for moms, and is “always on, creates” infinite possibilities for today’s marketers. Marketers need to understand this mobile media inflection point to build deeper and more meaningful connections with moms. Here are a few things to consider:

• Develop strong multi-screen advertising strategies to connect with Moms, to provide information, and to improve moms’ perceptions of brands
• Native advertising options are gaining in popularity and prevalence with marketers. Align your advertising content for moms to consume on their mobile devices.
• A mobile-optimized site or an intuitive and interactive mobile app ensures a better mobile experience for the consumers
• Consider geo-targeting to reach moms-on-the-go and see to it your brand is present on mobile devices before a competitor purchase is made. Funnel your ad messages across multiple channels.
• Tap into the creative side of moms by giving them control to customize how they communicate with your brand whether it’s Twitter, Facebook, e-mail, text, etc.

Conclusion:

Moms are a complex customer segment, and they are still the driving force behind the majority of household purchases. With moms being increasingly “plugged-in”, and with their incredible influence and purchase power, they provide enormous mobile opportunities for marketers to drive brand growth. It is important to understand their preferences, behavior and attitudes. Understanding how moms use their mobile devices is critical to crafting successful campaigns.

Want more in-depth information on mobile moms? Check out the comprehensive study recently released on our website