The Insights Family – a global leader in kids, parents, and family market intelligence – uses data from its Making It Matter report to assess how brands can best reach kids and parents in the digital world.
Consumers today have more information than ever before prior to buying a product. Before the Internet, the only information that was readily available to prospective purchasers was marketing material from the brand and testimonials delivered via word-of-mouth. Now there is a plethora of data available online from third parties, customers and respected sources, empowering customers to shop with confidence.
This previous information imbalance between brands and consumers spotlighted a demand for more informed purchasing decisions. Older generations of customers were more susceptible to marketing communications and more likely to make purchases based on impulse.
We can see this in our data, as younger parents are more likely to seek out reviews, influencer opinions and online discussion to make sure they have all the facts. Gen Z parents globally are +16% more likely on average to plan out their purchases when compared to baby boomers, who are more likely to act impulsively in their purchase behaviour, while Millennial parents are +19% more likely.
Reaching the modern consumer
With all of this information available to the modern consumer, it has become harder than ever to cut through the noise and connect in order to build meaningful relationships. Customers are less brand loyal. Gen Z parents (aged 18-25) are 41% less likely to trust adverts they see on TV and more likely to trust the recommendations of influencers (+72%) compared to Baby Boomers (age 56+).
It is highly likely that we will see an increase in brands utilising influencers in campaigns, providing a relatable and trustworthy brand touchpoint with consumers. This brand-to-consumer relationship will become increasingly two-way, opening up a new wave of co-creation opportunities that allow customers to personalise their experiences more broadly. This relationship will allow consumers to play a significant role in shaping brands’ long-term vision.
As trust in advertising decreases across the generations and families seek out more organic influences for their behaviour, organisations must rethink the way they engage with their audience, building a foundation of trust to connect with them. It has never been more essential to connect with the modern family in a way that speaks to their core values.
Increasingly, kids are influencing what clothes their parents are purchasing. Over the last six months, 43% of parents with kids aged 1-13 in the UK say that their kids influence what clothes they wear, and 84% say that their kids influence what clothes the kids themselves wear. Parents whose clothes purchases are influenced by their kids are at least +8% more likely to trust adverts on YouTube and Facebook, emphasising the importance of social media advertising and advocacy amongst online communities. By understanding which platforms these target audiences trust, brands will be able to better reach the family demographic.
Every organisation needs to be family first, as the touchpoints that engage different generations are constantly changing. Now that there is more information than ever when making a purchase, it’s never been more important to listen to families and to interact with them in the way that means most to drive engagement.
The Insights Family’s Making It Matter report discusses how brands can reach the super informed family in further detail and also explores other trends such as the increasing influence of kids in the household and the importance of forming meaningful brand relationships with young consumers. It is the first report produced by the company’s new Industry Knowledge team, dedicated to identifying the next big opportunities for brands and organisations in the kids, parents and family market. Download it for free here.
* All data from the last six months of Kids Insights data (October 2021 – April 2022)
The Insights Family is the global leader in kids, parents, and family market intelligence, providing real-time data on their attitudes, behaviours and consumption patterns.
Kids Insights surveys 7,780 children every week aged 3 to 18. Parents Insights surveys more than 3,800 parents of children between the ages of 1 and 16 every week. Both services operate in 22 countries across six continents and in total survey more than 469,040 kids and 228,800 parents a year. This means that the company interviews a new family member somewhere in the world every 45 seconds.
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