Marketing to moms is serious business.  Not only are we responsible for most of the household shopping, but having a baby forces us into a temporarily sleep-deprived haze and totally shakes up our routine.

Don’t believe me? In The Power of a Habit Charles Duhigg tells how Target recruited a young statistician to predict which of the store’s customers were currently pregnant by studying their recent purchases.  Target’s goal was to capture the soon-to-be-moms’ shopping loyalty, arguing “As soon as we get them buying diapers from us, they’re going to start buying everything else too.”

Well, I am not sure if Target figured out I was expecting a baby 5 years ago, but I do distinctly remember making a purposeful decision to do all of my shopping there around that time.  Between the coupon mailers, 5% cash back, and generally low prices I was sold.

Yes, I ended up having to switch some of the brands I was currently buying at other stores (my husband is still a little miffed at their tortilla selection), but all in all I did not need to make many sacrifices.  And what I gained was more time and money (both on short supply to the new mom).

And still – 6 years and 2 babies later – I buy groceries, baby supplies, pet supplies, drugstore items, home items, and clothes at my beloved Target. And it works for me.  I plan on sharing some strategies for not going overboard in future posts, so stay tuned.

I am sure the lovely people at Target know more about me than some of my friends, but I don’t mind.  I want to hear from you… did your shopping habits change after having a baby?

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