eMarketer
April 23, 2008

Word of mouth is as important - possibly even more important - to mothers as it is to consumers overall.

In a 2007 study, mom-focused research company BSM Media found 64% of moms asked other mothers for advice before they purchased a new product. Moreover, 63% of mothers surveyed by BSM considered other moms the most credible experts when they had questions.

Pregnant women and new moms also use WOM more than women in general or consumers as a whole, according to a Keller Fay Group and BabyCenter.com study fielded in 2008.

Number of Conversations per Week about Products and/or Brands according to US New/Expectant Mothers vs. All Women, January 2008

New/expectant mothers - 109 total conversations / 70 brand-specific mentions
All women - 83 total conversations / 59 brand-specific mentions
General public - 82 total conversations / 55 brand-specific mentions
Note: n=1,721 pregnant women and new mothers
Source: Babycenter LLC and Keller Fay Group

Seven out of 10 pregnant and new moms trusted what they heard from other moms. More than half said they tended to pass that information along.

NPD Group’s 2007 “Juvenile Products: Exploring the Booming Baby Business” survey yielded similar results. Nearly three-quarters of the mothers surveyed received product information via word of mouth or from the Internet.

Women in general have a high propensity to share positive information about a product. According to SheSpeaks, 87% of female Internet users will mention a favored product in conversation and 64% will forward an e-mail link to others.

“Marketers and retailers must recognize and encourage moms’ interest in sharing ideas with other parents,” said Debra Aho Williamson, senior analyst at eMarketer. “This helps empower mothers in their purchase decision process.”