Marketing to Mothers: The Touchpoints to Know on the Path to Purchase

Mothers spend, and they spend often.

Our latest research shows 75% have the main responsibility for food shopping in their household. In fact, apart from alcohol, they’re more likely to be buying every type of household item we track.

On close analysis of the purchase journey of mothers, two drivers stand out above all else:

• Value for money.
• The community element.

Let’s take a closer look at how these drivers come into play at each stage of the consumer journey.

Brand Discovery: TV, search and social media

For mothers, TV ads are top for brand discovery. But another trend is at work here. In very close second place is word-of-mouth recommendations from friends and family.

Comments on social media also see a jump among mothers.

As far as endorsements go, community tops influencers, highlighting that familiarity breeds trust among this audience.

Product Research: Reviews, search and social media

Just as mothers hear about brands through social forums, a community spotlight is evident through product research, with almost 4 in 10 turning to consumer review sites.

Search (47%) is top overall for product research.

But social networks (39%) have closed the gap year-on-year, and the youngest age bracket of mothers are more likely to turn to Facebook and co. than they are to a search engine.

The largest over-index here is for discount/voucher sites, which 1 in 5 mothers use, emphasising what prolific deal-seekers they are.

Brand Interaction: Email and social media

Social media isn’t just a channel to research products – it’s also a hub for mothers to interact with brands through browsing, following, and sharing.

Nevertheless, email is still ahead of social media as the top touchpoint.

A mother’s relationship with a brand is less about consuming content or entertainment through video platforms, and more about staying ahead of what’s happening. Alerting them to the best deals, for example, is an effective way to reach this audience.

Since mothers are driven by coupons (51%) and loyalty points (34%), brand interaction is also driven by that “little extra” they can get with their purchases. They also tend to shop more on mobile than on PCs, so it’s important to capture and reward their interaction whilst on-the-go.

Purchase Motivations: Free delivery and easy returns

Free delivery is almost always the top purchase driver across all our markets and demographics, and mothers are no exception. But this also taps into the convenience mothers seek.

When asked about what role they want brands to play in their lives, mothers choose brands simplifying their daily lives above all else.

With a third of mothers choosing a simple checkout process and even more choosing an easy returns policy as factors in their online buying, this simplification they seek in their day-to-day should be translated into a frictionless online buying experience.

Brand Advocacy: Incentives and rewards

With such a community-driven outlook, tapping into brand engagement and advocacy on mothers’ networks can be triggered via organic reach.

Financial incentives, including coupons and points, perform well on this front:

46% say they would promote a brand in return for rewards.

These two pillars of value for money and community endorsements prop up the mother’s path to purchase. But with a third of mothers planning to purchase a smart assistant, in addition to the 17% who already use one, brands have to be aware of the potential disruption of voice technology.

Optimizing voice applications that draw a user’s attention to ongoing deals and well-reviewed products could be successful ways to make inroads with mothers as they engage with their new devices.

This blog post was originally published in May 2018. For more statistics, browse our available reports.