The bare necessities How are expectant parents currently viewing nursery essential items? Here we take a look.
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s soon as pregnancy is confirmed, expectant parents turn their attention to what they may need with the list of possible products appearing endless in comparison to perhaps what they actually need. Of course, we all know at the heart of this lies an infant car seat due to these being a legal requirement, but what about other products, for example a bedside crib, Moses basket or cot? We asked Green Sheep’s Brand Director, Mark Nicholls for his thoughts. “A recent survey by FanFinders found that the baby’s cot is ranked by parents as the second most important baby buy, behind that of car seats, but surprisingly ahead of prams/strollers.” Said Mark. “One reason for this may be the link to prioritising the right sleep solution, given that babies spend on average 14 hours a day sleeping. Linked to the purchase of a cot of course is the mattress, and at Snüz, the importance of investing in a quality mattress for your child is going to be at the centre of our exciting upcoming SnüzSurface range launch.” There is then the matter of the mattress. Sleep time is an area that can cause an awful lot of new parents to have anxiety and with more options available, there is notably a shift toward mattresses that offer a level of breathability and are made from natural fibres. Mark feels there is a general shift toward products that are eco-friendly overall in nursery products saying: “Parents are increasingly turning to more sustainable
products for their baby, as well as also considering not just the materials used in manufacture but the longevity of use too. From our observations there is a trend towards parents investing into higher quality products with less harmful chemicals, in an attempt to do what is best for baby.” Baby wearing products have also seen their far share of growth, more so perhaps than ever during the current pandemic. With travel restrictions at present across the UK, we asked Ergobaby’s UK Marketing Manager, Holly Brewer for her thoughts within this product category? “Baby Wearing is becoming more important than ever, increasing bonding between parent and baby, ease of breast feeding, allowing parents to be hands free for dog walks and such. Due to the pandemic and restrictions in travel, families are benefiting from being outside in the fresh air enjoying their daily winter walks and baby wearing makes this easier. Innovation, convenience and usefulness are important criteria for carriers, with ergonomic carriers that facilitate multiple carry positions increasingly popular.” Social Media appears to also have played a pivotal role in driving this particular must have product category. We also asked Holly how this is driving consumer awareness? “The next generation of expectant parents are more digitally savvy than ever before. Social media channels have grown massively since the start of the pandemic and brands are
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finding new ways to engage with their target audience, example Tik Tock.” Comments Holly. “Digitally led information content is key to cut through the saturated online channel to raise brand awareness and educate audiences around wider baby wearing benefits.” Mark agrees when we look at how Social Media has had an overall impact on the way consumers are viewing nursery products, although this may not necessarily be purely Covid-19 driven. “Social media is playing a critical part, particularly during lockdown, in connecting parents to advice, information and ideas to meet the needs of their little ones.” Said Mark. “Social media has increasingly been a part of our lives for a number of years, Covid-19 is the catalyst increasing our consumption sooner, but we believe this outcome was inevitable.” New or expectant parents are information hungry, and we know that online research has increased in popularity in searching for products that are deemed as essential, so has the current Pandemic also effected the way consumers have adapted to purchasing nursery products? Holly feels that yes, online shopping will continue to rise, although that said, bricks and mortar nursery stores will remain at the heart of this and Ergobaby are keen to continue to ensure this stays the same once nursery stores can safely open their doors again. “The current pandemic has accelerated the growth of online shopping. Traditional nursery shops are still important as they have a wealth of expert knowledge and expectant parents what to experience the instore try before you buy. “During the pandemic we have been working closely with retailers to find alternative ways to reach and inform their customers without being able to discuss and demonstrate products in person, and without opportunities for activities such as in-store events. For example, we have been working with our retailers to provide digital launch assets, in-store training and to forecast for key events, launches and promotions to help our retailers get ahead of the competition as we slowly emerge from lockdown restrictions.” Although many expectant parents won’t actually purchase the larger nursery items during the first three months of pregnancy, that doesn’t mean they won’t actively start browsing around the internet for products required from birth. Take a look at some of the products featured over the following pages which are all available to order now.