• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, April 18, 2013

Moms have long held the household purse strings, but, in the age of social media, their influence now goes far beyond the front door. The vast majority of moms (91%) make regular use of social media -- a 20% increase from 2010.
 
Perhaps even more remarkable, over a fifth of moms (22%) now expect a high level of social media engagement from their friends and family, according to a survey of nearly 1,500 U.S. moms, according to new research from comScore and parenting site BabCenter.com.

“Social media has become so pervasive [among moms], it’s now fundamental to the way today’s moms live their lives,” said Mike Fogarty, senior vice president and global publisher at BabyCenter. “Today’s mom is the most influential and social consumer you’ll meet.”

Yet, all this social activity doesn't seem to be interrupting moms' shopping time. On the contrary, despite making up only 18% of the total U.S. Web population, moms were responsible for 32% of total online spending in the last quarter, according the research.

Compared to the general population, moms who are also heavy social networkers are more likely to shop online for clothing (61%), portable devices (91%), baby supplies (63%), and home and garden products (65%).
 
Despite the popular perception of gadget geeks as young and male, moms are actually early adopters of devices.
Compared to the general population, 49% more moms have smartphones (81% vs. 54%), while, in a year-over-year comparison, mom’s smartphone ownership is up 25%, while tablet ownership is up 79%.

More to the point, 89% of moms with smartphones access Facebook on their phones, and they are four times more likely to prefer to check social media via their smartphone than the average user.

Where are moms spending their social time? Today, 91% of moms have used Facebook in the past six months -- compared to 80% of the general population -- while nearly two-thirds of moms (61%) report having used Pinterest in the last six months -- nearly double its 30% usage among the general population.

"Woman on Smartphone photo from Shutterstock"