Consumer Lab

Blogging’s Glass Ceiling - NYTimes.com

Last weekend, about a thousand bloggers, almost all without the Y chromosome, attended the annual BlogHer conference, which began in 2005 to help female bloggers gain exposure. It has since evolved into a corporate-sponsored Oprah-inflected version of a ’60s consciousness-raising group.

The Corn Refiners
Association is trying to rehabilitate the reputation of high-fructose corn
syrup with a big ad and public-relations campaign to convince consumers that
HFCS isn’t the evil it has been made out to be. The group is running full-page
ads in more than a dozen major newspapers around the country today saying its
product is no worse for you than sugar.

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High Fructose Corn Syrup Mixes It Up - WSJ.com
The high-fructose corn-syrup business is fighting back.

In recent years, there have been a series of research papers and studies linking HFCS to the rise in obesity in the U.S. While sugar has to some degree also been blamed for America’s growing weight problems, HFCS, because it is manufactured, has come under greater criticism by consumers and some health professionals.

The report, “Kids’ Share of
Wallet,” by The NPD Group, looks at how and where mothers spend theor
discretionary income on their children and gives manufacturers and retailers of
kids’ products an inside look at those factors and how much kids influence what
is spent.

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Apparel, Entertainment Top Mom’s Spending: Survey
When it comes to discretionary spending, moms drop the most (23%) on a single category—apparel. But nearly half (48%) of every dollar is used on entertainment items, including toys and board games, leisure activities, books, music movies videos games, electronics and concerts, according to a recent report.

An annual report issued by Salary.com shows that a stay-at-home mom’s pay would be $117,000 a year if she were compensated monetarily for her work.

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A Mother’s Pay? $117,000 - WSJ.com
If a stay-at-home mom could be financially compensated, she would bring home nearly $117,000 a year.

A recent survey finds, not surprisingly, that women and their families are experiencing tremdndous financial woes ranging from credit card debt to healthcare.

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What Issues Matter Most to Women - Growing Financial Pressures on Family Life
Women and their families are experiencing tremendous financial woes - on issues ranging from housing to credit card debt to healthcare - and are concerned about their long-term financial security, according to a Meredith Corporation/NBC Universal survey.

One exception to the new conservatism is jewelry. While the NRF poll
found that fewer shoppers overall will buy mama some bling (29.7% versus 32.8%
last year), they’ll spend much more when they do. Overall, these shoppers
expect to spend $2.7 billion, compared to $2.1 billion last year.

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MediaPost Publications - Shoppers Plan To Cut Back On Mom’s Big Day - 04/23/2008

Looks like that Mother’s Day bouquet may be a little less lavish this year. A new survey from the National Retail Federation (NRF) finds that consumers, while still planning on buying gifts for Mom, will tone it down a little. Consumers say they plan to spend an average of $138.63 this year, down 51 cents from last year. Total consumer spending is expected to reach $15.8 billion.

As might be guessed, 64% have at least one conversation per day about
children’s products (versus 33% for total women and 25% for total public). But
discussions go far beyond kid-oriented products/brands, finds the Keller Fay
Group Pregnant women and new moms engage in one-third more WOM conversations
per day than women in general or consumers as a whole, and almost two-thirds of
their conversations include brand recommendations.

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MediaPost Publications - Brands Are Big Word-Of-Mouth Topics Among New Moms - 04/21/2008
When it comes to word-of-mouth (WOM) buzz about products–and specific brands–across a wide range of categories, expectant and new mothers are the champs, according to a new study from online resource BabyCenter and WOM-focused market research firm the Keller Fay Group.

Prospectiv’s Jere Doyle says the results basically confirm that mothers of young
children, while still far more inclined to use search, are also receptive to
targeted, opt-in e-newsletters-making these important for augmenting reach to
this consumer segment. “Marketers need to build consumer relationships,” he
says.

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MediaPost Publications - 1/3 Of Moms Buy Baby Products Online; 2/3 Research There - 04/15/2008
While most moms still prefer buying products for their babies and young children in person, one-third buy some of them online–and nearly two-thirds (61%) research their buys on the Net before heading for the store.

Also, among those who do research online,
the three top information sources are search (47%); e-newsletters
focused on products for babies/young children (16%), and branded
product sites (12%). Some also use general savings/shopping sites
(11%), shopping comparison sites (9%), and magazine/newspaper sites
(4%).

Ads with abbreviations aim to reach teens. But one hurdle for marketers: making sure that moms, who often do the family shopping, get the shorthand.

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Marketers Try to Be ‘Kewl’ With Text-Message Lingo - WSJ.com
OMG, ads r kewl!

Brace yourself, big marketers are getting hip to text-message lingo. In ads that begin in two weeks for a new line of Degree deodorant for teen girls, Unilever is highlighting “OMG! Moments.” Print ads running in magazines such as Seventeen and CosmoGIRL show “High School Musical” star Ashley Tisdale at a glitzy affair discovering that she has toilet paper stuck to one of her shoes.

Hair treatments like full-color dye plus highlights, once reserved for
women with salaries and mortgages, have increasingly become the norm
for pre-pubescent girls.

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A Girl’s Life, With Highlights - New York Times
LEXI JAMES, 11, a sixth grader in Hope Mills, N.C., had been asking for a hair treatment, any hair treatment, ever since her older sister, now 13, first had her hair chemically straightened by her mother three years ago.

“Lexi’s hair wasn’t the right type for that treatment because it was
too curly,” said her mother, Lisa Stasser, a cosmetologist. “It just
drove Lexi crazy. Lexi found her own hair so boring so I gave her a few
highlights and for a while, that was fine,” she said.