Moms, perhaps the most discerning of consumers, are shopping differently, according to a just-released Google study called the "Zero Moment of Truth (ZMOT)." The study addresses changes in consumer shopping habits overall, but in great part focuses on moms.

Balancing work, school, meetings, errands, naptime, play dates and so much more, moms need an arsenal of tools at their disposal to be the superhero in their professional and personal lives. Moms are some of the earliest adopters of smartphones as they seek devices to help maintain their over-saturated schedule. And the iPhone is clearly the tool of their choice. According to the New Product Development Group (NPD), the number of moms who purchased iPhones grew 132% in the first quarter of 2011 vs. the same time last year - outpacing men, at 121%.

Retail sales perked up this month, allowing for tentative hope that maybe, just maybe, this long recession is at an end. Not surprisingly, electronic sales led the way, which jumped for the first time in two years.

As Tina Sharkey shared in her column on Wednesday, moms are armed with a variety of tools to help them get their holiday shopping done more efficiently and cost-effectively this season than ever before - with social and mobile gaining as her go-to resources. "Never pay retail" is the mantra for moms this shopping season. Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals aside, mom became savvy with mobile and social media shopping apps this year and she'll be using them to find the best deals and snag hard-to-find must-haves to get through her holiday lists.

Accompanied by her trusty sidekicks-mobile and social-today's mom wields purchase power far and wide.

It seems like every year the holidays start sooner and sooner, and this year is no exception. Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas rolled out in the stores, and Moms are hard at work, stressed and excitedly planning. The holidays are a time for family fun and creating traditions and it's nice to see all the smiles it brings on your children's faces. But with it come concerns, and this Halloween was no exception. In fact, her concerns are year-round concerns, but heightened during Halloween.

It's easy to forget that as recently as 100 years ago; radio was a technological breakthrough and the biggest player in marketing to moms. Most of us are too young to remember Proctor & Gamble's radio soap operas but they served as their marketing initiative to the women in the home. Today, fewer marketers think of radio as a way to connect but in actuality radio retains its power and now includes a new, younger "cousin" called podcasts.

A generation or two ago, the single mom -- whether divorced or never married - was hardly a marketing target. Her numbers were relatively small, she typically had no financial clout and, if anyone talked about her at all, it often was in whispers.

When marketers think of moms and fall, the automatic association is with "Back to School"-after all, it's a vital decision period for family purchases. But is that all that moms are focused on when fall is in full swing?

For brands that market to new moms, it's always a changing landscape. Unlike in most businesses, consumer retention takes a backseat to enticing trial. Brands are constantly seeking new customers and, while those customers are a fairly constant demographic in many ways, the psychographics these days change rapidly as head-spinning changes in technology influence not only the way we receive information, but the way we view everything from privacy to relationships with brands.