People of a certain age may remember being plopped in the back seat of your parents’ car with nothing more than an older sibling to hold on to you. We’ve come a long way, baby—and not just in terms of safety.
Everything about the baby care industry has rapidly changed. Today, parents want gender-neutral baby clothing, high-tech baby monitoring solutions, and healthier food choices. Recognizing that today’s little ones will have some level of brand awareness and influence over their parents’ purchasing decisions before they even begin school, retailers are focused on giving parents—and their influential kids—the products and experiences they desire.
And Growing
The U.S. birthrate, much like the rest of the world, has been in steady decline since 2016. Regardless, the baby products market continues to grow.
In 2026, the global baby care products market is projected to be worth approximately $88.72 billion, a substantial increase from the segment’s estimated $67.35 billion in 2020.
What Are Today’s Parents Looking For?
Eco-friendly, sustainable, natural, and personalized. Today’s parents buy baby and childcare products whose claims make them feel they are providing the very best for their children.
These parents are not afraid of using technology to enhance the parenting and childhood experience. From advanced baby monitoring devices powered by AI to innovative diapering solutions and virtual parenting support through AR and VR, today’s parents are armed with access to information.
Successful retailers will deliver customized solutions that add convenience, address sustainability expectations, and deliver personalized guidance, recommendations, and products.
Smart Baby Products
Technology-driven advancements, such as AI-powered monitors and sensors, offer sophisticated and precise baby-monitoring capabilities. Features like real-time monitoring, sleep tracking, temperature control, and remote access via smartphone apps, help parents keep baby safe, or reveal how little Jesse went all Mission Impossible and escaped the crib.
- This Smart Bassinet connects to Alexa or Google Assistant, plays music, and has an auto-glide motion.
- Breathing and sleep tracking monitors like Miku Pro Contact-Free Breathing & Sleep Tracking Monitor, have a camera with audio, night vision, humidity, and temperature monitors with two-way talk.
- Body Temperature Monitoring gives you alerts when the baby’s temp falls out of normal range.
- This sleep monitor detects when the baby has rolled over or their face is covered.
Organic and Natural Baby Solutions
Consumers are increasingly aware of potentially harmful ingredients and eco-friendly alternatives. These organic and natural baby products are popular among Millennial parents:
- Organic reusable cloth diapers from Esembly in waterproof colors and prints.
- Naturepedic sells an organic baby crib mattress with a patented food-grade waterproof surface from non-GMO sugarcanes.
- Pipette baby shampoo, lotions, balms, and oils are manufactured with clean ingredients powered by moisturizing Squalane.
Baby Products with Sustainable Packaging
Biodegradable or compostable packaging options are almost an expectation at this point, aligning with consumer preferences for environmentally friendly choices. These products are especially popular among Gen Z parents:
- Reusable packaging has become popular for products like shampoo, body wash, and even baby balm, with “refill tablets.”
- Bamboo disposable diapers are popular with parents who are concerned about sustainability, and there are several brands jumping into the market, including Dyper.
- More parents are turning back to glass baby bottles, a safer, more sustainable alternative to plastic bottles.
Customization and Personalization
Brands are making it easier for consumers to personalize the entire parenting experience. Customizable diapers, personalized clothing, and baby care subscription boxes tailored to specific stages are growing in popularity.
“The alternative to our current intensive parenting style is personalized parenting, tailored to each child’s unique nature. It means that we don’t have to do it all; we don’t have to worry about everything. We just have to focus on what each of our children need most—which will differ for every child, based on their unique nature.”
Digital Support: Post-Partum Care and Parenting Apps
Today’s parents aren’t earmarking What to Expect When You’re Expecting. Instead, they’re downloading the app. They rely on digital platforms and forums to find information and resources and valuable recommendations for the products they want.
These apps offer features like developmental milestone tracking, breastfeeding support, sleep training programs, and parenting communities. Among the most popular are Philips baby growth and development tracking app, and The Bump’s pregnancy and parenting advice app.
As technology continues to become a partner in parenting, the use of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) will help facilitate immersive parenting experiences, offering virtual consultations, parenting classes, and interactive simulations to support and educate parents.
Already popular in China, AI-powered parenting assistants may play a role in providing personalized recommendations, tips, and guidance to parents based on data analysis and machine learning algorithms.
Gender-Neutral Products
Brands like Finn & Emma offer gender-neutral, organic clothing for infants. More brands are moving away from promoting traditional gender stereotypes, including clothing, care products, toys, and accessories. This trend reflects a growing emphasis on inclusivity and diversity.
The Bottom Line on Baby Care
Today’s parents are conscientious about the way the environment can impact child health—and how childrearing impacts the environment. They are making decisions to spend more and spend differently to give their children a healthier and safer experience from the start, choosing eco-friendly, sustainable, and organic baby products. Parents also expect to personalize and customize products, and they use technology to help them make better parenting decisions as well as monitor and support their babies more effectively.
Retailers can connect with these consumers by demonstrating their own shared values and commitment to children’s health (physical and mental) and in the support of parents.
Where do today’s parents take their families out to eat, and why? Read more about the evolving family restaurant experience.
