Parents are active online shoppers and their varied needs cause them to shop a variety of items and retailers. However, that doesn’t mean hesitation to buy online is non-existent and some parents require convincing to shop for more than just replacement or restock items and to feel comfortable buying more than what they need or are used to. Their reasons for buying are also intentional, with a desire to save time and money, creating loyalty challenges for retailers. Connecting through social media will appeal to younger parents, who are also willing to stray from their intended shopping needs and help to grow loyalty. Regardless, most parents – young and old – are not favoring one form of shopping over another. Instead, multichannel searching, shopping and buying is most common and that will continue, indicating retailers need to find a way to reach parents wherever they’re shopping, both on and offline.

For the purposes of this Report, Mintel has used the following definitions:

This Report will focus on how parents are shopping online across categories, including what motivates consumers to shop online, what barriers currently limit or prevent consumers from purchasing online and what retailers can do to improve online shopping in the future. In the Mintel consumer data referenced, parents are defined as male and female internet users aged 18+ who are parent/guardian to at least one child under the age of 18 in the household.