March 20, 2015
Critics: Amazon hasn’t a clue about modern American families
Recently, television star and new parent Ashton Kutcher made a widely publicized Twitter pronouncement: Public men’s restrooms should be fitted with diaper changing stations. Mr. Kutcher’s tweet spoke to a shift in parental responsibilities in modern American families that is having an impact on retailers beyond their bathroom facilities.
A case in point is the online ire being directed at Amazon Mom, the e-tailer’s online store for childcare products, by a group of dad bloggers who take issue with its gender-specific banner.
According to an article on The Daily Beast site, the dissatisfaction with the name of Amazon Mom has been percolating on dad blogs for some time but recently grew in intensity when Oren Miller, a well-renowned stay-at-home dad blogger and critic of Amazon Mom, passed away from cancer. Mr. Miller’s "Dad Blogger" Facebook group was instrumental in organizing the campaign encouraging Amazon Mom to change its name. Those who support a name change are using the hashtag #AmazonFamilyUS.
Amazon Mom is named "Amazon Family" in the U.K., Japan and other countries. This has given critics the impression that Amazon considers other countries more ready to accept the trend of dads as caregivers than the U.S.
While Amazon has not yet acquiesced, retailers are catching on to the trend of dad being the one who watches the baby, with sites like Dadgear.com offering "a line of masculine diaper bags … and accessories specifically designed for men."
Fatherhood is not the only area in which positions seen as traditionally female in the U.S. are opening up to men. In the medical field, for instance, the U.S. Census found that 9.6 percent of registered nurses in 2011 were men, up from 2.7 percent in 1970, according to an article in The News & Observer.
Health trends such as yoga and Pilates are also gaining traction with men. Magazines like Men’s Fitness have run features with names like "Pilates For Meatheads," which give the inside scoop on what it’s like for a guy to take on a workout in a Pilates studio.
Startups and retailers are also taking notice of the market. Broga — a portmanteau for "yoga for bros" — has been catching on at gyms. Lululemon, which recently began opening men’s-only stores, is expected by analysts to report impressive Q4 2014 earnings in mid-March 2015.
- Why ‘Amazon Mom’ Gets it Wrong – The Daily Beast
- Seymour medical center part of growing nursing trend – The News & Observer
- Pilates for Meatheads – Men’s Fitness
- Broga: Yoga For Men – Chicago Now
- Ashton Kutcher Bemoans Lack of Diaper Changing Tables in Men’s Rest Rooms – The Huffington Post
- Dadgear: Diaper Bags and Other Great Gear – dadgear.com
BrainTrust
Recent Discussions
Discussion Questions
Should Amazon change the Amazon Mom name to please dad bloggers? What are other new spaces in which retailers can capitalize on the trend of men entering into roles traditionally considered female?
Poll
An eventual renaming of the program is starting to feel inevitable, and it’s probably wise to be inclusive. Amazon is exceedingly customer-focused, and it’s tough to imagine them staying tone deaf on this topic forever.
Many of the taste- and preference-driven categories that have historical gender associations have and will continue to be turned on their heads. There are opportunities in grooming, fashion, fitness, beverages (both alcoholic and soft drinks), baby and many others.
Smart retailers are already reinventing their aisles, and smart suppliers are using new insight to drive new product development, packaging and shopper marketing campaigns.
Amazon should change the Amazon Mom name not to please the dad bloggers, but to better reflect their values of equality and to appeal to moms as well. Moms don’t need a site called “Mom” to know that the products apply to them, rather a large segment of moms will appreciate the broadening of the name, since even in families where mom is the home caregiver, dad still does work and shops as well.
From a marketing perspective, I think that the name change and accompanying attitude change may not be appropriate. Although I’m not a mom, it seems to me that the mommy blogger trend and participants creates sort of a “club” for mothers, that allows them to feel safe, secure and comfortable sharing thoughts among “the girls.” Opening it up to both parents might change that perspective and do enough damage from a business standpoint to offset any gains.
I would suggest they try adding Amazon Dad as a separate but equal sub-group. Marketers always tease out specific demographics for targeting purposes and gender-based parenting doesn’t have to be an exception. In fact, if they were to carry both male- and female-oriented parenting products (like male diaper bags), not targeting products to their audience would alienate and diminish the UX for shoppers that are deluged with inappropriate merchandise.
Amazon should change the name, not to simply appease dad bloggers, but to reflect reality. Gender roles in households are being blurred. Why alienate potential customers?
No, Amazon should change the name Amazon Mom because the folks that work there ought to have known better than to launch it in the first place.
Stuck for an alternative name? How about Amazon Parent? There, that was easy.
Brands can’t be held hostage to the faddish Sturm und Drang of outraged critics, but they must always place the customer first and in this case this means acknowledging the obvious: Not all women are stay-at-home mothers and a growing number of men are either the primary or exclusive deliverers of childcare.
It’s hard to believe that here—in the 21st century—we are still stuck talking about gender roles and stereotypes. Retailers would do well to “think” less about this problem and “observe” more. If they looked around they might actually learn something about people—male and female.
Pleasing the bloggers is not the point. Understanding consumers is the point. The increase in stay-at-home dads and the increase in dads who have custody, full or part time, of their children, as well as the number of gay dads raising children means this is a sizable market. It also means that the market is large enough that there is not just one dad consumer group, just as there is not just one mom group. The initial decision should have been to create a club for parents. Any company making products sold to moms as caregivers of children should consider making those products for men as well.
I was all set to say “Well, ‘mom’ has become such a generic title that I think there are Mr. and Ms. Moms all over the place.”
Then I saw that in other countries it’s called “Amazon Family.” THEN I got mad. This definitely falls into the category of “What were they thinking?”
Bad move. Fix it.
Amazon will acquiesce, simply because it makes sense.
Yes. Why alienate your target market? Amazon of all companies knows better that this just requires a few pages set up on their website to appease and appeal to this segment. Why is this still an issue?
When we look at the numbers Amazon has seen and is on a bumpy road in its market(s). Acceptance is the focus of my observation. The company and especially the company’s top executives are getting more than a little animosity from the media as in both social and the press.
Moving forward, the company leadership must get off of and stay off of the radar. Today’s discussion is small when compared to other losses and near misses Amazon has recently faced. Leaving China and the Amazon Prime problems are of greater concern to the ones focused on bottom-line results. Getting kicked when they are down speaks volumes for the condition of their public opinion within the home market. If Mr. Bezos wants to sell out of this perception of failing, he might consider selling his company stock as a solution to the company’s needs, or at least stepping aside. This puts the decision in a priority mode as in what or who is the first priority for Amazon.
I’m with Ryan on this one. Shame on Amazon. They should know their customers! They come across so hip and in sync and then make this major faux pas.
They can’t make this name change fast enough for my 2 cents!
This inane name sounds like a consequence of having too few women in the executive suite…as did those pink Bic “pens for women.” Come on, now.
Most everyone here (and me) agrees the name should be changed because it makes sense (that is to say neither because of, nor despite, the criticisms). So it’s a happy little case of “easy to please everyone.” But always lurking in the background in these discussions are the cases where the criticisms aren’t valid…then what? God help a company that lets some busybody blogger—or even Aston Kutcher—become its de facto marketing manager.
Amazon doesn’t need—and never needed—”an online store” for childcare products any more than it needs “an online store” for pet products, or one for geriatric products, or one for gardeners, or one for cooks. Amazon just needs to have a darned good internal search engine so consumers regardless of whether they’re men or women can find what they need at a good price.
Okay, the MOM word in this case has nada to do with male or female. Especially nowadays. In the old days (like when I was young) mom was for sure female (and very tough—tougher than today!).
Amazon should hold their ground. They can give in and run with Amazon Parent or Parent Amazon. Parent Amazon aligns with the fact that kids are more controlled by their computers/mobile devices than they are controlled or influenced by their non-circuit based human guides (real parents).
Amazon will go with the flow. I say fight for the right to be Amazon.
TRedd (batteries included)
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An eventual renaming of the program is starting to feel inevitable, and it’s probably wise to be inclusive. Amazon is exceedingly customer-focused, and it’s tough to imagine them staying tone deaf on this topic forever.
Many of the taste- and preference-driven categories that have historical gender associations have and will continue to be turned on their heads. There are opportunities in grooming, fashion, fitness, beverages (both alcoholic and soft drinks), baby and many others.
Smart retailers are already reinventing their aisles, and smart suppliers are using new insight to drive new product development, packaging and shopper marketing campaigns.
Amazon should change the Amazon Mom name not to please the dad bloggers, but to better reflect their values of equality and to appeal to moms as well. Moms don’t need a site called “Mom” to know that the products apply to them, rather a large segment of moms will appreciate the broadening of the name, since even in families where mom is the home caregiver, dad still does work and shops as well.
From a marketing perspective, I think that the name change and accompanying attitude change may not be appropriate. Although I’m not a mom, it seems to me that the mommy blogger trend and participants creates sort of a “club” for mothers, that allows them to feel safe, secure and comfortable sharing thoughts among “the girls.” Opening it up to both parents might change that perspective and do enough damage from a business standpoint to offset any gains.
I would suggest they try adding Amazon Dad as a separate but equal sub-group. Marketers always tease out specific demographics for targeting purposes and gender-based parenting doesn’t have to be an exception. In fact, if they were to carry both male- and female-oriented parenting products (like male diaper bags), not targeting products to their audience would alienate and diminish the UX for shoppers that are deluged with inappropriate merchandise.
Amazon should change the name, not to simply appease dad bloggers, but to reflect reality. Gender roles in households are being blurred. Why alienate potential customers?
No, Amazon should change the name Amazon Mom because the folks that work there ought to have known better than to launch it in the first place.
Stuck for an alternative name? How about Amazon Parent? There, that was easy.
Brands can’t be held hostage to the faddish Sturm und Drang of outraged critics, but they must always place the customer first and in this case this means acknowledging the obvious: Not all women are stay-at-home mothers and a growing number of men are either the primary or exclusive deliverers of childcare.
It’s hard to believe that here—in the 21st century—we are still stuck talking about gender roles and stereotypes. Retailers would do well to “think” less about this problem and “observe” more. If they looked around they might actually learn something about people—male and female.
Pleasing the bloggers is not the point. Understanding consumers is the point. The increase in stay-at-home dads and the increase in dads who have custody, full or part time, of their children, as well as the number of gay dads raising children means this is a sizable market. It also means that the market is large enough that there is not just one dad consumer group, just as there is not just one mom group. The initial decision should have been to create a club for parents. Any company making products sold to moms as caregivers of children should consider making those products for men as well.
I was all set to say “Well, ‘mom’ has become such a generic title that I think there are Mr. and Ms. Moms all over the place.”
Then I saw that in other countries it’s called “Amazon Family.” THEN I got mad. This definitely falls into the category of “What were they thinking?”
Bad move. Fix it.
Amazon will acquiesce, simply because it makes sense.
Yes. Why alienate your target market? Amazon of all companies knows better that this just requires a few pages set up on their website to appease and appeal to this segment. Why is this still an issue?
When we look at the numbers Amazon has seen and is on a bumpy road in its market(s). Acceptance is the focus of my observation. The company and especially the company’s top executives are getting more than a little animosity from the media as in both social and the press.
Moving forward, the company leadership must get off of and stay off of the radar. Today’s discussion is small when compared to other losses and near misses Amazon has recently faced. Leaving China and the Amazon Prime problems are of greater concern to the ones focused on bottom-line results. Getting kicked when they are down speaks volumes for the condition of their public opinion within the home market. If Mr. Bezos wants to sell out of this perception of failing, he might consider selling his company stock as a solution to the company’s needs, or at least stepping aside. This puts the decision in a priority mode as in what or who is the first priority for Amazon.
I’m with Ryan on this one. Shame on Amazon. They should know their customers! They come across so hip and in sync and then make this major faux pas.
They can’t make this name change fast enough for my 2 cents!
This inane name sounds like a consequence of having too few women in the executive suite…as did those pink Bic “pens for women.” Come on, now.
Most everyone here (and me) agrees the name should be changed because it makes sense (that is to say neither because of, nor despite, the criticisms). So it’s a happy little case of “easy to please everyone.” But always lurking in the background in these discussions are the cases where the criticisms aren’t valid…then what? God help a company that lets some busybody blogger—or even Aston Kutcher—become its de facto marketing manager.
Amazon doesn’t need—and never needed—”an online store” for childcare products any more than it needs “an online store” for pet products, or one for geriatric products, or one for gardeners, or one for cooks. Amazon just needs to have a darned good internal search engine so consumers regardless of whether they’re men or women can find what they need at a good price.
Okay, the MOM word in this case has nada to do with male or female. Especially nowadays. In the old days (like when I was young) mom was for sure female (and very tough—tougher than today!).
Amazon should hold their ground. They can give in and run with Amazon Parent or Parent Amazon. Parent Amazon aligns with the fact that kids are more controlled by their computers/mobile devices than they are controlled or influenced by their non-circuit based human guides (real parents).
Amazon will go with the flow. I say fight for the right to be Amazon.
TRedd (batteries included)