Mom's the word for online shopping


An internet start-up is targeting a 75 million demographic group which spends nearly $1.3 trillion (£880bn) a year - no wonder venture capitalists have just poured in $36m to start the US dotcom for mothers, ClubMom.

'Our mission is to bring moms together in massive numbers and to serve them relentlessly, both online and offline. ClubMom gives them the recognition they deserve, and the support they need to gain greater economic power and personal accomplishment,' said Sara Levinson, chairMom and chief executive officer of ClubMom.

Membership to ClubMom is free and already more than 1.4m women have signed up. To make money, the start-up is doing deals with retailers, who pay ClubMom around 4% of each purchase.

ClubMom this month made another agreement, with car-maker General Motors, which will provide members with specific incentives for the purchase of GM products and services.

The site will run loyalty programmes for purchasers, who can save up points to, say, take the children to Disneyland.

The backers of ClubMom say there is much more to the company that just retailing. There is a 'personal assistant' that helps mothers manage their lives with tools such as calendars, e-mail, and checklists.

Mom's the word for online shopping

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