Older moms leading market for premium baby goods

“I spend about 80 percent of our household spending for my daughter because I buy products safe for my child, such as organic food and furniture painted with environmentally friendly paint,” said a 40-year-old working mom of a 2-year-old girl in Seoul. She said she had difficulty having a child after getting married at age 35.

○ Older moms lead baby goods market

According to Statistics Korea, the average age of a woman giving birth for the first time in the country was 31.4 last year, up by 2 years from a decade ago. In Seoul, the average age was higher than 32. The number of babies born to mothers over age 40 also set a record with more than 10,000 since these statistics were first compiled in 1981.

With more women in their 30s or older having babies, the focus of the market for premium baby goods has shifted to high-income mothers, meaning that “gold misses” who earn high incomes are becoming “older moms” who greatly affect the market.

E-Mart’s CRM division said the proportion of mothers in their 20s buying organic processed food for their babies fell from 12.2 percent in 2010 to 9 percent this year, while that for those in their 30s increased from 48.1 percent to 52.7 percent over the same period.

Bae Jang-woo, a buyer at Lotte Department Store, said, “The share of clothing has increased to 60 percent of the entire market for newborn baby goods because older moms buy special clothes for their babies.”

○ Products customized for older moms burst into market

Zero to Seven, a baby and child goods company, launched a skincare line targeting older pregnant women who are concerned over slower recovery of their skin.

Korean baby goods company PreBeBe released a carrier blanket having older moms in view. The product has a more supportable pad around the waist area for older moms, who suffer from back pain more easily than younger moms. A staff from Maclaren, a foreign maker of baby carriages, said, “More moms look for more ergonomically designed baby carriers because they hurt the wrists of old moms less.”

Han Gyeong-hye, a family and child studies professor at Seoul National University, said, “Older moms are more likely to treat their children as a VVIB, or a very, very important baby, and spend time and money generously. Their husbands tend to cooperate in child raising, making such couples do their utmost in raising their children.”

bright@donga.com