Through a special arrangement, presented here for discussion is a summary of a current article from the Retail TouchPoints website.
Female members of the Millennial generation are acquiring a larger share of the "mom market," and as such, their wants and needs are quickly shifting.
According to the Millennial Mom Report, the latest installment of BabyCenter's 21st Century Mom Insights Series, the inherent tech savviness of the group not surprisingly stands out. While Gen Xers (born between the early 1960s and the 1980s) spend 1.2 hours a day on smartphones and 0.4 hours on tablets a day, Millennials spend 1.7 and 0.5 hours, respectively.
At least once a month, Millennial moms use their smartphones and/or tablets to:
- Look up a recipe (76 percent)
- Search or browse for parenting advice (76 percent)
- Manage finances or pay pills (69 percent)
- Make a purchase (64 percent)
Mobile has been especially valuable to this group of women as they strive to learn more about pregnancy and parenting, and seek out support from peers.
At the same time, compared to Gen X moms, Millennials overall think it's important that brands and retailers understand their wants and needs, and share similar values.
The product of "helicopter parenting," Millennial Moms, the study finds, are opting to parent their own children differently by adopting a more relaxed approach. When asked about their own upbringing, Millennial Moms are more likely than Gen X moms to say that their parents were protective (63 percent vs. 49 percent), worried (38 percent vs. 26 percent), and enabling (34 percent vs. 25 percent). By contrast, they describe their own parenting style as fun (88 percent vs. 82 percent of Gen X moms), forgiving (87 percent vs. 77 percent), relaxed (59 percent vs. 48 percent), and aspirational (49 percent vs. 39 percent).
"Millennial Moms are clearly reacting to the way they were raised," said Mike Fogarty, SVP and global publisher at BabyCenter, in a statement. "They're creating an environment for their kids that's more laid back and less structured, and they feel more relaxed and happy as parents. They reject the pressure they grew up with."