1 in 4 U.S. Social-Media Moms Report Purchasing Kids' Products Based on Online Recommendations

NEW YORK, Dec. 13, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a new study commissioned by Child's Play Communications from The NPD Group Inc., a leading market research company, 79% of all moms in the U.S. with children under the age of 18 are active in social media.  Of these moms, about one in four (23%) said they have purchased a children's product as a result of a recommendation from a social networking site or blog.  

"Social Media Moms: How Networking Impacts Purchasing Behaviors" probes into the behaviors and opinions of active social media moms, defined as moms who currently belong to a social networking site and/or write, read or comment on blogs.  Based on responses from a sample of more than 2,000 active social media moms, it is evident that online recommendations have even more impact among the most frequent social media users: 43% of active social media moms who use these sites on a daily basis have purchased a children's product as the result of a recommendation from these sites.

According to Stephanie Azzarone, president, Child's Play Communications, "We specialize in connecting companies with moms and know from our experience how social media can influence their purchasing decisions.  The NPD research validates that and provides new insight into the process. Clearly, moms nationwide are making purchasing decisions as a result of the information and advice other moms are providing through social media."

Active social media moms who purchased a children's product based on a social media recommendation said that, on average, they did so five times in the past year.  More than half (55%) of these moms said they made their purchase because of a recommendation from a personal review blog and 40% from a Facebook recommendation.

"Social media has become an enormous influence on purchasing, and savvy marketers have certainly begun to embrace this vehicle when messaging to moms," said Anita Frazier, Industry Analyst for The NPD Group. "But many marketers have yet to fully realize the potential of social media and the power of peer group recommendations, which means more opportunities are on the horizon."

The NPD Group fielded an online survey to members of NPD's online panel and to members of the Child's Play Communications online panel. The two different sources provided data to create both a holistic view of U.S. moms and their interaction with social media, as well as a deep-dive into the behaviors and preferences of social media moms.  

The NPD Group, Inc.

The NPD Group is the leading provider of reliable and comprehensive consumer and retail information for a wide range of industries. Today, more than 1,800 manufacturers, retailers, and service companies rely on NPD to help them drive critical business decisions at the global, national, and local market levels. NPD helps our clients to identify new business opportunities and guide product development, marketing, sales, merchandising, and other functions. Information is available for the following industry sectors: automotive, beauty, commercial technology, consumer technology, entertainment, fashion, food and beverage, foodservice, home, office supplies, software, sports, toys, and wireless. For more information, contact us, visit http://www.npd.com/, or follow us Twitter at https://twitter.com/npdgroup.

Child's Play Communications

Child's Play Communications specializes exclusively in public relations, social media and word-of-mouth communications for products and services targeted to moms. Based in New York City, the agency has launched an exciting array of proprietary services to engage this influential market through traditional media, social media and word-of-mouth communications, including the award-winning Team Mom™, the agency's own network of mom review-bloggers. Recent company awards have included PR Innovation of the Year (2009) and Social Media Innovator of the Year (2010). For more information, call (212) 488-2060 or visit www.childsplaypr.com.

SOURCE Child's Play Communications