Dive Brief:

• Some 19 million women ages 20 to 44 — 38% of women in their childbearing years — are not mothers, but, despite their spending power, are routinely ignored by retailers and their marketers, according to study by branding consulting and public relations firm DeVries Global. 

• DeVries Global conducted its analysis inspired by entrepreneur Melanie Notkin, who recently wrote a book, “Otherhood: Modern Women Finding a New King of Happiness.”

• The women in this demographic are highly educated, extremely active and influential on social media, and spend significantly more on products in a variety of categories than their counterparts with children.

Dive Insight:

You wouldn't know it by watching TV or YouTube ads, but many of the most powerful, educated, young, and high-spending members of our society are women without children. This may be a significant retail story for the 21st century: Women who are not mothers, whether by choice or by chance, make up an important demographic that is being ignored by retailers and their marketers.