Make it effective, convenient
Although washing the laundry and cleaning the house will never top the lists of things most consumers enjoy doing, products that make both chores easier and more effective are appreciated. And new product development efforts, including those on the store brand side, could help satisfy Americans’ growing and evolving range of cleaning needs — and reinvigorate sales.
Sales within the home laundry care segment have been falling. Between 2010 and 2015, the category experienced declining sales almost every year, dropping 3 percent in current dollars and 12 percent on an inflation-adjusted basis to $12.4 billion, states “Home Laundry Products U.S.,” an August 2015 report from global marketing research firm Mintel.
Household surface cleaner sales, on the other hand, increased 4 percent to $4.7 billion between 2009 and 2014, relays Mintel’s November 2014 “Household Surface Cleaners U.S.” report. Segments offering quick cleanup and disinfection, including all-purpose cleaners and disposable wipes, achieved modest gains that were partially offset by declines in more labor-intensive segments, Mintel says, such as tub/tile cleaners and furniture polish.
Changing preferences
Laundry detergent represents nearly two-thirds of total home laundry product sales. But declines for detergent — driven by continuing retail price competition, the growth of single-dose detergents and an increasing number of high-efficiency washers — have eaten into the small gains in all other (non-detergent) home laundry segments combined, Mintel relays.
Liquid detergent remains the most popular form, used regularly by almost three-quarters of adults who at least sometimes do their own laundry. And consumers under the age of 44 are adopting single-dose detergents far more often than their elders, which indicates that pods could continue to gain.
About one-sixth of Mintel’s study respondents indicate they regularly use in-wash scent boosters, which are closely aligned with regular fabric softeners. The hike in in-wash scent booster use, however, may be linked to decreasing liquid fabric softener sales, which some consumers use primarily to boost fragrance.
Consumer migration to liquid unit-dose products is the most significant trend impacting the laundry care segment, says Eddie Greenstein, director of sales, Detergent 2.0 LLC, New Brunswick, N.J.
“It’s the fastest-growing segment in the category, and it enables enormous savings and efficiencies for the brands, retailers and consumers,” he adds. “Powder unit dose in laundry is a cheater-type product. It looks like the real thing, but does not come close in efficacy despite its vastly lower cost to produce.”
Drew Harrison, president, Value Smart Products Inc., Suwanee, Ga., cites scent boosters as the hottest laundry-care segment trend.
Detergent tablets and in-wash scent boosters have driven growth in laundry care in recent years, agrees Ryan Tuttle, research analyst for London-based market research firm Euromonitor International.
“In-wash scent boosters have been a particularly big hit as consumers look to infuse their laundry with fresh scents, while detergent tablets have become particularly popular due to their ease of use and the ability to ensure proper dosing,” he adds. The strongest performers on the household cleaner side of late, meanwhile, include all-purpose cleaners, disposable wipes and spray disinfectants featuring simplicity, convenience and quick cleanups plus disinfection. In contrast, the most labor-intensive cleaning products suffered the largest usage declines, Mintel’s household surface cleaners study reveals.
Tap into opportunities
Unit dose remains an important trend in laundry. However, retailers must decide whether to sell a compact store brand powder tablet detergent or a liquid tablet detergent — the former of which may be preferable from a child-safety standpoint, Tuttle says.
“Powder tablets are harder to ingest as quickly as a liquid tablet detergent, which may help to placate some of the fears held by concerned parents,” he notes. “Store brands should keep an eye on packaging innovations that can help mitigate incidence of children ingestion,” he adds.
Most other fabric-care products, including stain fighters, chlorine bleach and brighteners, are typically used only occasionally, which indicates that many consumers view detergent, coupled with a fabric softener or scent booster, sufficient for most loads, Mintel’s home laundry products study suggests. Retailers offering store brand laundry care products might encourage more frequent usage of a full regimen of these products by emphasizing the greater degree of customization and control afforded by separate products.
Retailers should emphasize fragrance variety, fragrance mixing and fragrance duration for own-brand fabric softeners and in-wash scent boosters, Mintel notes. Functional benefits such as quicker drying and prolonged clothing life could increase usage or expand the market, the study implies.
Harrison urges retailers to review the size and growth of the scent booster category, as well as the category’s potential for increased margins.
“Avoid the purposeful creation of non-NBE products, unless you will promote them and advertise them aggressively,” he adds. “Stick with NBE sizes, colors, fragrances, etc.”
Since household cleaners that promise maximum effectiveness in reducing and eliminating harmful bacteria and other potential health hazards are in demand, multi-purpose cleaners are gaining favor in some category segments with consumers and retailers alike.
Although consumers still shop frugally for household cleaner products, opportunities exist for items that deliver extra cleaning power or added convenience, says John Owen, Mintel senior household analyst, in the company’s household surface cleaners report.
Store brand household cleaning products are gaining favor among more shoppers. Consumers’ desire to save money coupled with the belief that store brands offer effective, efficient cleaning, could result in private label gains in the future, Mintel suggests. Products promising extra cleaning power or easing the cleaning task also have the greatest potential for retailers to charge a premium price.
“Cleaning wipes, in particular, have seen tremendous growth in recent years and point to many consumers’ interest in products that allow them to quickly clean a surface with minimal effort,” Euromonitor’s Tuttle says.
Child safety is important regarding household cleaners, too. Part of the appeal of environmentally friendly products is their lower toxicity levels, Tuttle says.
“Store brands that can set parents at greater ease through child-safety packaging and non-toxic formulations will likely reap benefits as the millennial generation draws closer to their parenting years,” he adds.
Technology around safety issues is moving fast and private label, with its short production runs, has a hard time keeping up on a cost-reasonable basis, Greenstein cautions.
“Regulations now demand resealable pouches along with a bitter agent in the unit dose film,” he adds.
Rethink packaging, merchandising
As the United States continues to urbanize and the empty nester population increases, many Americans are finding themselves in smaller living quarters where storage space is limited.
“Multi-purpose [cleaning] products and packaging that can be easily stowed in small spaces or stacked are likely to remain important as consumers look to fit the essentials in their environment,” Tuttle says.
Private label products need to provide compelling value, either through quality or price, he continues while Harrison urges increased use of sleeve labels to enhance product appeal.
Cross-marketing and promoting complementary products are important for store brand products in both categories Harrison says.
Cross-merchandised scents have been a common theme in branded cleaners and laundry care products, Tuttle adds.
“Investing in store brands’ advertising and scent profiles may hold potential for private label brands — if they are able to draw consumers’ attention to the presence of a recognizable scent between various products in a private label portfolio,” he concludes.
Do consider consumers’ concern for child safety in new product development.
Don’t forget to emphasize fragrance variety and duration for store brand in-wash scent boosters.
Do highlight effectiveness, convenience of store brand household cleaners.
Don’t ignore the trend toward smaller household sizes when it comes to packaging.