India‘s population is rapidly growing. With the second highest population on Earth, the country is set to overtake China as the world’s most populous country by 2026. By 2050, that number is expected to swell to more than 1.6 billion. Today, its youth population stands at 253 million — more than the total of Western Asia in absolute numbers. According to the United Nations Population Fund, 4 million adolescent Indian girls give birth annually. This has given rise to a nation with a growing generation of younger parents.
 
The new age of parents

When it comes to households, dads are tasked with responsibilities such as bringing the bread home as per tradition, while India’s mums remain the primary care-taker of children. According to our recent “Asian Digital Mum Survey 2015”, Asian mums remain the primary decision makers in every single country, with 83 percent of the mums surveyed saying that they are the ‘chief household decision makers’ of their respective families.

On the digital front, India is seeing the most disrupting change. The country’s Internet penetration has been growing at 14 percent annually - the highest growth rate among all of its Asian neighbours.  With technology gaining a steady foothold in India’s society, it is little wonder then to see its effect trickle down to the typical Indian household.

This is where parenthood and technology combine to play a role in the transformation of India’s young women into “digi mums”. After becoming a mother, the typical Indian mum reported a 71 percent increase in terms of utilising the Internet for searches. Meanwhile, they reported a decrease in the usage of other traditional media such as the television.

Additionally, our study revealed that the #1 topic “digi mums” read about online revolves around parenting. Among mums surveyed in India, a whopping 87 percent also revealed that the Internet is now an important part of their lives. Thus, technology is making its way into the household, with a growing proportion of young “digi mums” who are adept at technology integrating it into their everyday lives.

With more “digi moms” being the ‘chief household decision makers and controlling the household purse strings, India’s parenting market shows great potential for reinvigoration, especially in the online realm.

The ‘maternal dollars’

By 2020, India will constitute 5.8 percent of global consumption, compared with 2.7 percent now. Consumer expenditures are set to expand 3.6 times from $991 billion in 2010 to about $3.6 trillion by 2020. That is an annual growth of 14 percent, significantly higher than the projected global average pace of 5.5 percent and 9 percent for emerging economies.

With household incomes also slated to climb 2.9 times from 2010 to 2020, this empowers India’s “digi mums” with an extremely important currency, the maternal dollar – a valuable commodity in the parenting market. What this trend unearths is a whole new growth potential for businesses to tap into the digital parenting market.

In light of the shifting marketplace, businesses can look to engage India’s “digi mums” online via a myriad of ways, namely: building online communities, generating quality videos, and being a part of the social media conversation.

1. Building online communities

48 per cent of mums now interact online with other mums at least once a week. That is a near seven-fold figure compared to mums who interact offline with other mums at least once a week.

This is where businesses can make themselves visible by establishing online communities that encourage open and respectful dialogue between mums. Instilling measures such as having online moderators and maintaining and moderating the site regularly would also strengthen the conduciveness of such communities.

Over time, such positive interactions online can help form relationships, ultimately leading mums to associate positive experiences with the businesses’ respective brands.

2. Generating quality videos

Videos are now an essential part of the online user experience. We found out through our study that videos are the emerging medium through which mums get the information they need. Social media platforms that boost video functions are widely popular among India’s “digi mums”, and they contribute clout to the power of videos. Today’s Internet boosts a plethora of content, and if businesses create videos that engage “digi mums”, they will stand out and resonate with them.

3. Getting social with mums

The online experience is not complete without social media. For businesses, the goal here is to connect with mums by creating shared experiences. The possibilities are endless. Brands can get creative with their own way of engaging mums. These can include the myriad from answering questions and solving problems to hearing ideas and offering support. When mums know which brands are the ones that are responsive to their needs, they will be more inclined to turn to those brands when they need something.

With India’s burgeoning population, its digital parenting market possesses tremendous potential for development. According to the Economic Times, the baby care product market in India is worth $10 billion, but only 5 percent of transactions are done through online retailers, leaving plenty of room for growth. What this presents is a multi-billion dollar sector in the making. For businesses, the ball is currently in their court. Parents are already online, so it is their turn to make the move – by taking their brand message to mums on the Internet.
 
About the author: Roshni Mahtani is a Singaporean entrepreneur and journalist. She is best known for launching Asia's largest parenting website theAsianparent.com. As an entrepreneur based in Singapore, Mahtani is also actively involved in the startup community. In 2012, she co-founded the Female Founders Network, a non-profit organization that aims to increase funding to female founded companies from it's current 5 percent to 20 percent by 2020. The female founders network has over 800 female founders as members.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author. MYB takes no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, the information provided by the author.