Who is Today's Shopper Mom?

In demographic terms she may still be referred to as the “shopper mom,” but try to define what that means these days and you’ll likely find out how difficult it is and how often it changes. Macro trends in the U.S. affect traditional societal norms overall, and moms are no exception.

Many are now single mothers who are heads of households. Many are college-educated; in fact, 60% of all bachelor’s degrees are now earned by women.¹ More than 70% of mothers with kids under 18 are working.¹ And, in four out of 10 households, mothers are the sole or primary breadwinner.²

It is no wonder then that today's moms feel as if they are “performing” all the time. In one way or another, they are. They lead extraordinarily busy, multi-role lives in which they are constantly multi-tasking. As a result, 56% of working moms find it very or somewhat difficult to balance work and family responsibilities, and 23% feel they don’t spend enough time with their children.¹

Of course this all has an impact on how they approach food and beverage shopping. As family schedules are busier today than ever before, the perfect 6pm family dinner around the table is a thing of the past. As a result, family members don’t eat dinner together as often as they used to, and mom’s role as a provider and caregiver must be viewed through a different lens.

Increased Need for Better Shopper Solutions
Time-starved shoppers look to retailers for solutions. This, in turn, requires retailers to know their shoppers better. The top four things shoppers want from a retailer are:³

• Save me time
• Make it quick and easy to find items in the store
• Help me get what I want
• Give me ideas - e.g. meals, snacks and new items

With daily family meals now the exception rather than the rule and so many meals now eaten on the run, today’s moms look for easy solutions. She likes to gather the family together and create positive moments. She recognizes that meals and snacks can help her do this, but doesn’t have time to put too much thinking into it – so she’s looking for inspiration. When it comes to meals, faster and fresher are key. And when it comes to snacks, she wants quick and easy munchies for the family with little or no preparation required.

Leverage Insights to Reach Multicultural Shoppers with Relevance
Multicultural shoppers are becoming the mainstream and will represent a large portion of growth in retail channels in the next decade and beyond.

The principal passion point for the Hispanic mom is bringing the family together and she often uses the dinner table to do it. But in doing so she still requires convenience when selecting a store to shop. She's more likely to select a store for its convenience and ability to save time than other moms.⁴ These moms have started using convenient solutions at meal time and 19% of Hispanic most-frequent shoppers in the grocery channel would like to see stores offer mealtime solutions⁵ – presenting an opportunity for retailers.

African-American mothers are more likely to take impulse shopping trips than other mothers, so strong in-store messaging is important.⁶

More than two-thirds (70%) of Asian-Americans say that “food is one of the most important sources of pleasure in my life” and almost as many (65%) say it is important that food be “very fresh.”⁷ They are more likely to take advantage of displays, in-store promotions and messaging and have the highest incidence for use with technology – so it is important to integrate mobile and digital tools into the Asian-American shopper experience.⁸

To learn more about today’s shopper mom and ways to develop shopper-driven solutions, contact your Coca-Cola representative.

Sources:
1. Pew Research Center Breadwinner Moms Report 2013
2. U.S. Census Bureau 2010
3. TNS, The Future of Retail 2012
4. iSHOP 2014 
5. Coca-Cola internal bundle analysis 2010
6. iSHOP 2014
7. The Futures Company Asian American Food Quick Take 
8. Nielsen – State of the Asian Consumer – 2012