My Mommy’s Online

eMarketer - March 17, 2008 –

Slowly but surely searching, online shopping and social networking are becoming part of mothers' daily routines.

Being a parent makes going online almost a necessity.

Today, more than 40% of all women who go online in the US—approximately 35 million of them—are mothers who have children under 18 at home.

”As busy and time-starved as today’s moms are, they still make time to go online,” says Debra Aho Williamson, eMarketer Senior Analyst and author of the new report, Moms Online: Browsing, Researching, Buying. “More than eight out of 10 moms go online at least once a month, compared with 68% of all women.”

Based on its 2007 Simmons Consumer Research Survey, Experian estimated that 86% of women who had at least one child in their household go online.

Moreover, the Internet usage rate rises to 94% among women who are pregnant or expect to have a child in the next year.

Nearly half (47%) of moms surveyed by the Intelligence Group said they use the Internet more since having a child.

All these findings do not mean that moms are spending all or even most of their time online dealing with parenting issues, however.

According to data from comScore Media Metrix, 94% of moms ages 25-54 visited portals, 89% visited search and navigation sites and 85% went to an entertainment site.

”Research shows that the Internet plays a key role in moms’ purchasing decisions,” says Ms. Williamson.

BabyCenter.com found that 68% of moms regularly make purchases online, and 28% of the moms surveyed by Experian made an online purchase the month before.

To learn more about how changing Internet habits are affecting product-buying decisions, download the new eMarketer report, Moms Online: Browsing, Researching, Buying, today.

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