Mums are being selective as to where they cut back their spending within the current economic climate with some categories set to weather conditions better than others, according to new research commissioned by Mumpower.
The ‘Australian Mums Today’ study found that over the coming six months, 94% of Mums are likely to cut back in some way with discretionary categories feeling the pinch the most, led by eating out (70%) and travel (51%).
In comparison, less than one-third (29%) of Mums say they will cut expenditure on home appliances and homewares.
The study also explored brand loyalty among Mums with only 14% being classified as brand loyal, stating they always buy the same brand. Two in three Mums (64%) tend to switch between a few brands, while 21% tend to try a lot of different brands.
For those who switch brands in the home appliance category, the top reasons for switching are price (50%) and better product quality (38%).
For those buying a new product in the home appliance category for the first time, most Mums first discover products via social media (26%) ahead of online reviews (23%) and in-store experience (13%).
However, online reviews had the biggest impact on the purchase decision among 28% of Mums, more than word of mouth and recommendations from online communities (12%) and social media influencers or sponsored posts (10%).
Looking ahead to 2023, seven out of 10 Mums will be purchasing technology as part of their children’s back-to-school requirements. Among these Mums, the top five retailers they will visit include Officeworks (33%), JB Hi-Fi (27%), Harvey Norman (9%), Big W (6%) and Kmart (5%).
Millennial Mums are more likely to consciously purchase sustainable products compared to Gen X Mums with 86% saying they have purchased a sustainable product in the last three months either most of the time or occasionally compared to 78% of Gen X. Millennial Mums also say they are more conscious of purchasing sustainable products compared to 12 months ago.
Mumpower CEO, Christie Nicholas said, “Sustainability goes beyond producing a product with recyclable packaging. Today’s Mums want and expect more from brands. While previously, shoppers expected to pay a premium for brands that fell in this category, this is no longer the case.
“As more organisations improve their environmental footprint in different ways, Mums will have more choices available to her. Any brand that does not step up will be left behind.”