In-store influence is evermore important

Typically, women set out to attain happiness for themselves and their families, working to ensure happy households that nourish the inhabitants. Being a mother is an all-encompassing job, often including a traditional full-time job, as well. And again, seeking happiness is a priority: 25 percent of moms feel it is extremely important to get a job or career she likes, versus 19 percent of the general population.

Survey results point out a number of shopping behavior changes moms are making to save money on their grocery bills;

Moms are demonstrating intense resolve to save money and make forward economic progress for their household. More than half of moms indicate they will shop multiple stores to find the lowest price, versus 43 percent of the general population. And, four-in-10 moms are adjusting their shopping schedules to make larger trips at the beginning of the month when more cash is available, while one-third of the population as a whole is making such shifts.

Because so many people have made recession-induced changes which have continued for a number of years, these changes have become habits and are expected to resonate well into the future.

The incidence of social media use among moms continues to rise, reaching 85 percent of moms who are Internet users in December 2011, up from 79 percent in November 2010. And, more than half are spending more time today than they have in the past looking for deals online.

Moms are 24 percent more likely than the general population to use coupons to help make their lists, and they are twice as likely to use the Internet to generate their lists. And again, showing their growing interest in Web-based resources, moms are 50 percent more likely than the general population to use retailer Web sites to make their lists.

It is no surprise then that new media makes a big and rapidly growing impact on moms as they learn about, buy and consume packaged goods.

Moms download coupons from manufacturer Web sites, with nearly 38 percent of moms visiting these sites for coupons, significantly higher versus the general population. They index quite highly in the propensity to gather coupons from social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter. And, they use social media pages to research products, as well as retailer and manufacturer texts and e-mails to keep them up-to-date with brands and products.

The Mommy Blogosphere is a culture in itself and has been ramping up influence and validity in recent years. While only 8.1 percent of moms research products on blogs today, this figure is nearly twice that of the general population and growing quickly.

They are two-and-one-half times more likely than the general population to take recommendations/information from social networking sites or blogs.

In-store influence is evermore important, despite the work moms do up-front in preparation for their shopping trips.

For one, when they arrive at the store, moms have indicated they will take a moment to peruse in-store circulars, pre- shopping preparations notwithstanding, and that in-store advertisements and promotions will influence brand decisions. Nearly one-quarter of moms say that their brand decisions are heavily influenced by in-store circulars. Indeed, in-store circulars are much more influential for moms versus the general population. Price, of course, presents as another valuable in-store influencer, as 61 percent of moms say item price heavily sways brand decisions, versus 49 percent of the total population.