Moms Find Time Online

Multitasking moms are not going unrecognized as research reveals what they are doing online and how their families are showing appreciation. As women use the Internet to stay organized and save time, traffic is soaring to various flower and gift sites in anticipation for the Mother’s Day 2004 holiday.

Largely due to the efficiency the Internet affords, a March 2004 collaborative report from Yahoo Inc. and Starcom MediaVest Group with data from Just Ask a Woman and TNS Media Research found that women are essentially squeezing 38 hours of living into their 24 hour days.

These “extra hours” are particularly important to the 89 percent of the 1,653 moms that participated in an April 2004 America Online survey, conducted by Opinion Research Corporation, that revealed they don’t have enough time in the day to get everything done. However, an overwhelming majority found a solution online: 80 percent freed up an average of two hours per week by conducting some of their chores or activities on the Internet.

Moms are also surfing the Internet at off-peak hours, as more than two-thirds are likely to go online between 7 pm and 6 am; 50 percent surf in the mornings between 6 am and noon; and 13 percent log on between midnight and 6 am.

It’s not all work for online moms, as they find time for socialization and parent/child bonding while surfing. Nearly 30 percent have made new friends while visiting online community spaces – most likely groups related to mothering and pregnancy, weight loss, and local hometowns – and 71 percent say they are at the computer while their children sit on their laps or nearby.

The Internet plays a strong role in how families will recognize moms’ organizational and time management efforts. A survey conducted by Feedback Research, a division of the Claria Corporation, found that nearly one-quarter of respondents have bought or will buy their Mother’s Day gift online, while 45 percent will research mom’s gift online before purchasing. Of those that viewed gift sites, 53 percent said they will spend or have spent more than $50 on mom’s gift.

Mother’s Day shopping is reflected in recent traffic spikes. Hitwise measured a 67 percent increase to sites within their flowers and gifts category from April 27 to May 4. The largest year-to-year jumps occurred with JustFlowers.com (309 percent), Godiva Chocolates (78 percent), FTD (65 percent), Florist.com (45 percent), and 1-800-Flowers (41 percent).

Similarly, http://www.nielsen-netratings.com Nielsen//NetRatings saw significant increases to shopping comparison sites during the pre-Mother’s Day period.