For Immediate Release
For more information:

Kim McLynn
The NPD Group
847-692-1781
Kim_mclynn@npd.com

The NPD Group, Inc.
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Port Washington, NY 11050

NPD Finds Moms Struggling with Finances While Trying to Feed and Take Care of Family

- New study captures what's on moms' minds and how they're coping today

Chicago, June 3, 2009 – Moms, with children under 18, are responsible for feeding 141 million individuals, and these moms are anxious about rising food prices and struggling to stay within a budget in this turbulent economy, according to a new report by The NPD Group, a leading market research company. The NPD report, entitled What’s on the Minds of Moms and How They’re Coping Today,” finds having enough money to meet their family’s needs is the top concern among moms today and the majority of those mom’s aren’t optimistic about improvement in their situation, even in a year’s time.

The moms surveyed by NPD say they’re trying to save money on grocery purchases and the top strategy moms say they are using is turning to discount stores more, buying less expensive brands, stocking up more often to take advantage of sales, searching for lower prices in store circulars, and choosing store brands more often.

Top 5 Claimed Ways Moms’
Shopping Habits have Changed
versus 12 Months Ago
#1 Using Walmart or other discount stores more often
#2 Buying less expensive brands more often
#3 Stocking up more often to take advantage of sales
#4 Searching store circulars more often for low prices
#5 Choosing store brands more often

Source: The NPD Group/What’s on the Minds of Moms and How They’re Coping Today

“Even though moms are trying to save money on groceries, they still want meals that are easy and quick to prepare, and healthy, affordable options for themselves and their families,” says Dori Hickey, product development director at NPD and author of “What’s on the Minds of Moms and How They’re Coping Today,” and the mom of two teenage sons. 

Moms' Top 5 Claimed Influences on
Food & Beverage Purchases
#1 Trying to save money on grocery purchases
#2 Want meals that are easy to prepare
#3 Trying to eat healthy
#4 Need to stay within a food budget
#5 Want meals that are quick to prepare

Source: The NPD Group/What’s on the Minds of Moms and How They’re Coping Today

According to NPD’s National Eating Trends®, which has tracked the daily eating habits of Americans since 1980, moms with kids under 18 prepare 290 dinner meals annually, which, collectively, amounts to 10.2 billion dinners prepared by moms in the U.S. each year.  While mom makes dinner on most nights, in households without kids under 18, men are more involved in dinner preparation than they are in households with kids under 18.

In addition to the strategies moms are using to feed their families in a challenging economy, the NPD report, which profiles moms based on their experiences and personal characteristics, explores the concerns both new and experienced moms have and examines the challenges they face in raising their children. “What’s on the Minds of Moms and How They’re Coping Today” also examines how involved children are in meal preparation, how much they influence the purchase of selected categories or brand choices within the category, and what prompts requests for a specific brand among different age groups.

About The NPD Group, Inc.
The NPD Group is the leading provider of reliable and comprehensive consumer and retail information for a wide range of industries. Today, more than 1,700 manufacturers, retailers, and service companies rely on NPD to help them drive critical business decisions at the global, national, and local market levels. NPD helps our clients to identify new business opportunities and guide product development, marketing, sales, merchandising, and other functions. Information is available for the following industry sectors: automotive, beauty, commercial technology, consumer technology, entertainment, fashion, food and beverage, foodservice, home, office supplies, software, sports, toys, and wireless. For more information, contact us, visit http://www.npd.com/, or follow us Twitter at https://twitter.com/npdgroup