Today’s mums are spending an average of 10 hours per week on personal web use, as the internet becomes a lifeline amid the demands of family life. Exclusive, in-depth research conducted by Microsoft Advertising and research agency SPA shows nine out of 10 mums in the UK using the internet on a daily basis.
The study used focus groups, family sessions, depth interviews, video and paper diaries, blogs, pre tasks and a quantitative online survey to build an exhaustive picture of the diverse lives of mums across the UK. The results are essential reading for those targeting marketing solutions at mums and families.
The research found a vital role for the web in four key areas of mums’ lives: keeping in touch, family organisation, personal fulfilment and entertainment. Advertisers can use these findings to target specific digital solutions at mums, based on the different mindsets they adopt when engaged in these activities.
Whether they work full-time, stay at home, care for a first child or organise a growing family, mums are consistently their family’s key decision maker, and a decision maker who increasingly turns to the internet for help.
Time-constrained mums use email as their primary tool for keeping in touch, be it with partners and kids, close friends or more distant family and friends. In all, 95 per cent of those surveyed used email, compared to 90 per cent for landline calls, 88 per cent for text messages and 85 per cent for mobile phone calls. Social Networking, Instant Messaging (IM) and VOIP calls have started to emerge as vital tools for maintaining an emotional bond with both nearby and more distant contacts through mums’ changing circumstances.
Faced with organising most aspects of family life, mums are increasingly dependent on the internet for information, advice, reassurance, idea generation and transactions. Convenience, freedom from trailing reluctant children around stores, as well as savings in time and money all played a key role in the popularity of online purchases, made by 78 per cent of mums. Money was managed online by 68 per cent, while a total of 94 per cent turned to the web for information and advice. The information sought ranged from health and nutrition, advice for days out and children’s entertainment, to medical information and recipes. Marketing solutions and branded advice often play a key role in delivering this information.
Personal fulfilment was seen as a rare pleasure by many mums, and was valued all the more intensely as a result. Pursuing hobbies online, keeping up to date on news and gossip, indulgent ‘me-time’, shopping, social networking and blogging all played a key role here.
The web’s role in entertainment increased noticeably for the younger mums, particularly viewing video clips and online TV, the popularity of which could grow given mums’ appreciation of the practical benefits of services like Sky+. Casual online games, often played with children, were the most popular form of web entertainment, undertaken by 47 per cent of all mums. Downloading music was also popular amongst all mums.
At the same time as revealing the role of the web in mums’ lives, the research stresses the central role that mums take in key household decisions, from organising finances to social events and holidays. Diverse, time-poor, yet increasingly influential, mums are one of the most important audiences for marketing solutions in the internet age.
