Beauty brands that effectively engage "mommy bloggers" stand to gain substantial benefits covering everything from word of mouth to purchase intent, a study has argued.
BlogHer, a leading portal for this audience, and DeVries Public Relations surveyed 1,074 women to acquire an insight into their habits and attitudes.
Some 48% of interviewees were between 35 and 44 years old, and 13% came from the 45-54 year old segment.
Three-quarters of panelists read and wrote blogs, indicating an above-average interest in this form of new media.
Despite this, 55% of the sample had bought cosmetics products in a physical store in the last 30 days, slipping to 13% regarding the web.
These totals reached 56% and 5% concerning haircare, measured against 47% and 12% in turn in reference to skincare offerings.
Mass merchants such as Target and Wal-Mart claimed the majority of offline purchases, recording 55%.
When shopping via the net, 17% of females preferred branded beauty platforms, but just 3% afforded department store sites a similar status.
Overall, 63% of those polled agreed blogs had inspired them to make a category purchase in the last six months, compared with 26% delivered by magazines.
Exactly 60% of participants favoured "familiar" bloggers for advice, beating store websites' 46%, social networks' 33% and message boards' 20%.
A quarter of contributors accessed online news and apps when conducting research, and 21% employed branded websites to discover information, but only 5% logged on to Facebook and Twitter for this purpose.
Traditional media channels like television and newspapers, however, performed worse still, yielding 4% apiece.
Recommendations from friends and cost savings constituted the primary reasons for picking up a specific product, with samples and discounts also important.
Feedback posted by a well-known blogger was mentioned by 54% as stimulating such decisions, and a four- or five-star user-generated review scored 46%.
Fashion-focused internet content secured a high level of trust, on 43%, although blogs discussing parenting had the same rating, while equivalents focusing on health registered 42%, and general lifestyle blogs received 37%.
Elisa Camahort Page, co-founder of BlogHer, suggested the findings revealed the impact of digital media was increasingly entering the "mainstream."
"Even when purchasing ultimately takes place offline, online word-of-mouth maintains its powerful influence," she added.
Elsewhere, 19% of respondents stated the web was a quicker and more efficient way of completing transactions.
Another 17% believed it made research easier, 11% perceived prices as being lower, and 10% thought it gave a wider selection.
Previous analysis from BlogHer had found 55% of women typically carry out research in stores prior to purchase, falling to 34% for store websites and 29% for search engines.
A further 15% turned to social media - a total estimated to double that for the population as a whole - and 8% looked to catalogues.
BlogHer, a leading portal for this audience, and DeVries Public Relations surveyed 1,074 women to acquire an insight into their habits and attitudes.
Some 48% of interviewees were between 35 and 44 years old, and 13% came from the 45-54 year old segment.
Three-quarters of panelists read and wrote blogs, indicating an above-average interest in this form of new media.
Despite this, 55% of the sample had bought cosmetics products in a physical store in the last 30 days, slipping to 13% regarding the web.
These totals reached 56% and 5% concerning haircare, measured against 47% and 12% in turn in reference to skincare offerings.
Mass merchants such as Target and Wal-Mart claimed the majority of offline purchases, recording 55%.
When shopping via the net, 17% of females preferred branded beauty platforms, but just 3% afforded department store sites a similar status.
Overall, 63% of those polled agreed blogs had inspired them to make a category purchase in the last six months, compared with 26% delivered by magazines.
Exactly 60% of participants favoured "familiar" bloggers for advice, beating store websites' 46%, social networks' 33% and message boards' 20%.
A quarter of contributors accessed online news and apps when conducting research, and 21% employed branded websites to discover information, but only 5% logged on to Facebook and Twitter for this purpose.
Traditional media channels like television and newspapers, however, performed worse still, yielding 4% apiece.
Recommendations from friends and cost savings constituted the primary reasons for picking up a specific product, with samples and discounts also important.
Feedback posted by a well-known blogger was mentioned by 54% as stimulating such decisions, and a four- or five-star user-generated review scored 46%.
Fashion-focused internet content secured a high level of trust, on 43%, although blogs discussing parenting had the same rating, while equivalents focusing on health registered 42%, and general lifestyle blogs received 37%.
Elisa Camahort Page, co-founder of BlogHer, suggested the findings revealed the impact of digital media was increasingly entering the "mainstream."
"Even when purchasing ultimately takes place offline, online word-of-mouth maintains its powerful influence," she added.
Elsewhere, 19% of respondents stated the web was a quicker and more efficient way of completing transactions.
Another 17% believed it made research easier, 11% perceived prices as being lower, and 10% thought it gave a wider selection.
Previous analysis from BlogHer had found 55% of women typically carry out research in stores prior to purchase, falling to 34% for store websites and 29% for search engines.
A further 15% turned to social media - a total estimated to double that for the population as a whole - and 8% looked to catalogues.
