Mommy’s are logging onto facebook and your favorite social network. Dont believe us but Microsoft Advertising and Starcom MediaVest Group (SMG) have conducted a new survey on Asian mothers to understand their online behavior and have concluded that quite a few of them do spend time online. Today mothers are the prime decision makers in households and therefore have a great impact on how their family spends. With the general increase in the use of internet, these mothers have the potential to become unofficial brand ambassadors and marketing strategies cannot neglect them anymore.
The key findings of this survey are that Asian mothers spend 17 hours per week online. 90 per cent of them use the internet to connect with family and friends. Despite this, Indian mothers, according to the survey, were among the lowest users of social networking with just about 58 per cent maintaining a profile compared to 82 per cent in Singapore, 77 per cent in Hong Kong and 62 per cent in China and Korea.
Specifically when it comes to purchasing decisions, 58 percent of mothers say the most used sources are online networks made up of friends, family members and colleagues. The next trusted source is online customer reviews (46 percent). And in China mothers actually rely more on online recommendations than on family and relatives.
A whopping 94 per cent mothers in China made an online purchase in the last 12 months while only 50 per cent Indian mothers who surf made a purchase online in the last 30 days. On the whole more than two-thirds of mothers surveyed purchase products online and close to 70 percent plan to do so in the next 12 months.
The confidence these mothers have in becoming unofficial brand ambassadors can be seen in the survey result where 72 percent of mothers in India and Malaysia feel that they can persuade friends and family to buy the same product or brand.
Among the mothers, it has been found that expecting mothers and those with children younger than three years old rely heavily on online peer-to-peer interactions. Mothers with children aged six or above rely more on the basic tools of email and search engines.
The survey has uncovered interesting statistics and conclusions which surely will aid marketers in making decisions. Question is how many of the mommy’s children add them on social networking sites? Do you?
