Tech-savvy Moms Lead Home-based Food Culture

According to “Moms as Food Shoppers: Grocery Store and Supercenter Patterns and Trends,” a recently released report from market research firm Packaged Facts, the modern American mom is at the center of the new home-based food culture and at the front lines of the movement toward healthy eating.

Each year, moms contribute to spending nearly $200 billion on food purchased for use at home. The report reveals that 13.3 million moms (41 percent) consider their kitchen to be the most important room in their home, while 19.7 million (61 percent) say they enjoy cooking.

A growing number of these moms want to put a new spin on the same old menus, especially with new recipes and food products, and this growing desire has given influence to the internet and social media when it comes to household food purchases.

“So great is the technological and new media influence that it often supersedes much of the purchasing sway traditionally believed to be held by children in the home—a reality that is changing how marketers engage with today’s moms,” said David Sprinkle, research director of Rockville, Md.-based Packaged Facts. “Modern moms turn to blogs for meal planning information before the store and use mobile apps to make sure they are getting the best deals in the store.”

One characteristic of the mom profile across generations is the desire to provide nutritious, healthy family meals. Modern moms, however, want grocery stores to aid in the planning and preparation of such meals. In addition to enhancing the offerings available on their websites, grocers can build relationships with moms looking for interesting and innovative cooking tips by strengthening their in-store cooking and meal planning programs. According to Packaged Facts, moms are 33 percent more likely to choose grocery stores that offer cooking classes or cooking videos -- compared to food shoppers on average -- and 23 percent more likely to pick stores that provide meal planning and recipe information.

Packaged Facts, a division of MarketResearch.com, publishes market intelligence on a wide range of consumer market topics, including consumer demographics and shopper insights, consumer financial products and services, consumer goods and retailing, and CPG’s, among others.