Moms ranked friends and family as their most trusted source about brands and products, with blogs/web sites and moms' social media circles ranking as the second and third most trusted sources. Source: The 360PR MomSquad^®: The Shopping Mom's Mindset. 

In December 2011, The 360PR MomSquad^® conducted a survey
with mom and shopping trend blog Cool Mom Picks to identify the values, media and other factors that influence moms' purchases for their families and themselves. Highlights of the study include:

Ninety-five percent of moms surveyed own a smart phone. With all those smart phones in their pocketbooks, nearly three-quarters of moms said they increased their usage of mobile apps (72%) in the past year. Also up with moms were usage of web sites (67%), Facebook (59%) and blogs (57%).

Moms are effectively differentiating between what they read on web sites and social networks, with more moms ranking a brand's web site (32%) as a trusted resource than a brand's Facebook page (10%) or Twitter stream (4.4%).

Deal sites and blogs were big winners with moms. Nearly three-quarters of moms (75%) said they increased their usage of deal sites in 2011. QR codes have been lower to catch on with moms, though 16% of moms surveyed said they had increased their use of QR codes.

59% of moms surveyed said they would be more likely to support brands that donate a percentage of profits to charity. Many more moms (70%) said they have liked a brand on Facebook to support a cause, and an overwhelming majority (93%) said a brand's values are important to them.

Conducted with our friends at Cool Mom Picks.