A New Demographic

I have no use for these anymore...not in Kuching anyway :)

Shoes…while you once stirred desires and quickened heartbeats you now merit only a passing glance, as I breeze past you on my sensibly-shod feet on the way to the baby’s department. Somewhere between the acquisition of a pair of hot pink sandals (which I wore to work when I ballooned up during pregnancy) and then boring but oh-so-comfy pair of flats (which is getting a lot of wear and mileage at work now) - incidentally both Clarks, a most glaring giveaway of my current fashion state of mind - Steve Maddens, Nine Wests and Fioruccis have lost their hold on me - heels, straps and buckles.

Designer bags…while you were once firmly in my sight (but alas not too many in my possession!), with the power to, someday at least, make me voluntarily squander my paycheck and still feel good about it (which makes these indulgences value-for-money), you now seem like such foolish extravagances. No amount of Prada or Chanel is going to make me a better mother, and besides, when I’m out and about with baby, who needs a Kelly, Madison or Sabrina when I have Allison?

Tech gadgets and gizmos…while you once induced a must-buy compulsion, you have been bumped from my wishlist. My inner geek is now satiated - I have all I need to keep up with the smartphone-toting colleague, the DSLRed shutterbug friend and the MacBook exhibitionist at Starbucks. I don’t need a new lens, when my value-for-money 50 mm prime is good enough to capture Allison in full glory!

On the other hand if you are marketing baby apparel, baby bath products, developmental toys, carriers, diapers, food…I am easy meat. ME! Ready to be seduced by the idea of safer, more convenient child-rearing (patented bathtubs! sturdy lightweight strollers! parabens-free wipes and bath foams! organic baby food!) and coerced into parting with hard-earned money for the promise of a brighter (first books!), happier (musical toys! activity mats!) and cuter (corduroy shorts! rainbow-hued tights! red leather “shoos”!) baby. Being a mother to a baby girl naturally confers an additional vulnerability to frivolous purchases.

I shop avidly, online and in-store. I’m not averse to buying from thrift shops selling BabyGap export overruns, neither do I deliberate before forking out a fortune for a fancy dress she’s likely to wear only occasionally before outgrowing it. I spend hours researching products online, comparing reviews and prices. I will never visit a mall without dropping by the baby section.

I represent a new demographic. If you target me and countless other young mummies like me, my guess is you won’t do too shabbily. New product? Bring it on!