Oh, baby - purchasing patterns for home-pregnancy tests

American Demographics, May, 1997 by Marcia Mogelonsky

We've come a long way from the rabbit test of the 1950s. Women today can confirm pregnancy in the privacy of their homes. And the newest home-pregnancy tests are faster, simpler to use, and more accurate than earlier versions.

The households most likely to purchase home-pregnancy tests are the ones you'd expect--couples hoping to start a family. Childfree couples under age 35 are 435 percent more likely than their share of the population suggests to buy the kits, according to ACNielsen. Those hoping to increase their brood, couples with children under age 6, are 341 percent more likely than expected.

But young couples aren't the only ones who would rather hear the big news at home than from a health-care provider. Young singles under age 35 are 65 percent more likely than expected to use a home-pregnancy test.

Regardless of their motivation or test results, consumers are only likely to need a home-pregnancy test once a year. Only 15 percent of households buy more than one a year. Yet test sales are still booming. Sales in supermarkets alone topped $578 million in 1995. One reason is price--test buyers paid an average of $10. The tests may have been flying high on the last baby-boomer households, the oldest of whom are age 33 in 1997. The entrance of the subsequent, smaller generation may cause sales to dip. But when it comes to life's "little" surprises, you never know.