Now, more families are having fewer children. Today's babies also have grandparents who may have divorced and remarried, meaning more adults to buy stuff for each baby. With birthrates for women in their 30s at the highest level in more than three decades, more babies are entering families where mom and dad have well-established careers. It's a market that's happy to tolerate increased prices. In the last six months, however, they've been purchasing more expensive strollers.
Parents expect advances on each new model.
The latest standard equipment is trays and cup holders. Today's mom also expects to be able to fold a stroller with one hand, said Michael Grant, national sales manager at status-brand Combi International. Combi's lightest stroller is an aluminum number that weighs 7.7 pounds. At the company's stroller test centers in Asia, engineers measure the amount of shock a stroller transfers to baby as they simulate the stroller going down the street. Chin, who tracks stroller developments, said Maclaren is the brand to watch.