Case Study
WINNING WITH MILLENNIAL MOMS FOR CHILDREN’S APPAREL
overview
Moms with young children are currently members of several generational cohorts, and each cohort has different needs and preferences when it comes to shopping for their children. Of these cohorts, Millennial moms often have the most divergent desires. Given the current competitive landscape across both brick and mortar and online retailers, brands must continually refresh their strategies to stay at the forefront of this crowded, ever-changing landscape. But how can a brand best determine how to position themselves to align with the needs of Millennial moms while not alienating moms from other generations?
This was the challenge for our client, a large, well-known clothing retailer. They wanted a method to pinpoint the needs of moms with young children that was broad enough to understand the nuances in shopping behavior among generational cohorts, yet narrow enough to identify overarching themes to drive future strategies.
To help our client answer their important business questions, C+R created a comprehensive online survey among a large population of moms with young kids –both Millennial moms and non-Millennial moms—to capture and understand the critical needs for each cohort.
THE PROBLEM
Our client, a department store retailer, was looking to refresh their strategy and approach to their children’s apparel business in order to attract young moms. Specifically, they sought to understand various aspects of shopping for children’s apparel, including:
- The key factors driving moms’ trip consideration;
- How moms currently feel about children’s apparel retailers;
- Mom’s shopping preferences for children’s apparel (online, B&M or BOPUS); and
- How moms differ in their shopping experience.
They approached C+R to create a comprehensive quantitative study that connected them with moms with young kids to gain critical insights. Our challenge was to create a survey tool that could be flexible enough to account for current shopping behaviors across different types of retailers, methods of shopping, kids’ ages/genders/sizes/etc., and the balance of influence between the parent and kids.
OUR APPROACH
To help our client answer their important business questions, we distributed a comprehensive, 15-minute online survey to approximately 3,600 moms with kids 12 and under. Respondents were between the ages of 18-59 years old, were located throughout the United States, and were mixed with regard to the age and gender of the child(ren) they shopped for. Additionally, we recruited a mix of moms who look for specialty sizes/departments, type of shopper (online vs. in-store), and their level of engagement/influence when shopping.
The survey was created in collaboration with our client, the analyst team, and the C+R YouthBeat team, who specializes in the study of the youth and family segment. The survey was built to understand how shopping for children’s clothing is typically done and how moms feel about retailers in their current consideration set. The moms were also asked to prioritize their needs when shopping for children’s clothing using a choice-based exercise.
During the analysis phase, the YouthBeat team was again consulted, and they utilized their extensive knowledge of the Millennial generation to provide deeper insights into the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of Millennial moms in the study. This added layer of expertise helped to further bring Millennial Moms to life.
The result
Our client gained insights into the top drivers of store selection among moms, as well as which drivers most impacted retailer affinity. They also discovered how online and brick-and-mortar competitors stacked up in moms’ perceptions in categories such as assortment of clothes, price, convenience, and shopping experience. Results were presented both in the aggregate and among segments broken down by gender and age.
We also generated actionable steps our client could take to win with moms (both Millennial and non-Millennial), including ideas for improved department organization and how to improve the experience for those shopping for specialty sizes.
proven experience
related case studies
