Retailers Beware: Moms Armed with Smartphones for Holiday Shopping

For most moms today, finding something – anything – to make daily tasks easier is a welcomed thing. On top of busy schedules, increasing workloads and responsibility for others – staying organized and checking things off the to-do list is a part of the constant battle.

Technology has helped business users and others gain efficiency and cut costs for years already. Now moms are finding the same benefits by taking advantage of the mobile device they already have on them at all times (you know, incase the daycare calls, or soccer practice is cancelled).

A new study focusing on purchasing trends among moms today highlights the ways mobile devices have become central to shopping experiences.

A new study by BabyCenter titled, “U.S. Mobile Mom 2014 Report: Small Screens' Big Influence on Moms' Path to Purchase,” found that 59 percent of moms are using their mobile devices to shop for products and test out new brands – up from 47 percent in 2013.

Moms are using their phones to shop for products while in in-store and are even comparison shopping for the best deal. This included while being at mass retailer locations like grocery stores and even discount wholesalers, and the types of products they shopped for included everything from food and beverages to clothing and games for children.

Also, while walking the aisles of stores looking for the best deal, moms are now turning to mobile coupon hunting from their devices. Especially in grocery stores, more than 1 in 3 moms said they were using their mobile phones to find coupons they could use on the groceries they were purchasing.

For advertisers, the survey shows that including a mobile coupon with advertising offers was most appealing for moms. Seventy-two percent said they like to see mobile coupons with the ads on their devices. Not only a coupon, but also a deal that is nearby their location and videos with how-to’s on the products we’re all appealing features mom’s liked seeing from advertisers.

"Moms are becoming more savvy about leveraging their smartphones while shopping, and advertisers need to follow suit. Mobile is no longer a 'good to have' but a 'must have' when it comes to reaching Mom while she's considering what, when, and where to buy," said Julie Michaelson, Vice President of Sales, BabyCenter.

The topic of mobile devices has sparked interest across the marketplace as the Holiday shopping season approaches. Moms are perhaps the most important target market for advertisers to focus on for these high purchase shopping days. It will be interesting after the Holiday shopping frenzy has passed to see how well advertisers performed to meet the expectations of today’s mobile shoppers.