Rise of the tech-savvy mother: who says their place is in the kitchen?

The old-school, technology-idiot mother has been fodder for comedy shows for decades, but according to a survey released by theAsianparent.com, it seems that mums are not quite the cavewomen we thought they were. Case in point: did you know that 99 percent of Asian digital mothers own a smartphone?

TheAsianparent.com’s first annual Asian Digital Mum Survey engaged over 10,000 expectant mothers and mothers with kids up to the age of 16 in four markets, including Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.

The results should especially interest marketers with new insights into the online behaviour of Asian mothers, and how to reach these household decision-makers. Here are some of the key findings that we found particularly surprising.

Women use the Internet more after becoming mothers

The common stereotypical view is that mothers are too busy to do anything except work and look after the baby. Instead, the survey found that 80 percent of Asian women actually increase their Internet usage once they become mothers, but at the same time 58 percent of them spend less hours watching TV.

Mothers use the Internet largely to check social media

Teenagers might not find Facebook cool anymore, but mothers sure do. In fact, 88 percent of mothers use the Internet primarily to check social media sites, while 99 percent own at least one social media account.

And their purchase decisions are largely made online, too

Here’s the clincher for marketers: 91 percent of mothers in Singapore have made a purchase based on recommendations received through social media or other online channels. As it turns out, social proof is a decisive factor for mothers online when it comes to making purchases.

Mothers are the decision makers in the households, not fathers

89 percent of digital Asian mothers deem themselves the primary decision makers for purchases in their households. In other words, marketers need to start targeting mothers in their strategies, especially if they are in the business of household products.