Performance counts

Although time-strapped American consumers remain budget-conscious and have less time to clean and disinfect their households, they’re still demanding and expecting maximum effectiveness from their household cleaners to reduce and eliminate harmful bacteria and other potential health hazards. As a result, multipurpose cleaners are gaining favor in some category segments with consumers and retailers alike.

“The household surface cleaner market has grown at only a modest pace in recent years as many consumers continue to take an especially budget-conscious approach to shopping the category. Still, opportunities exist for products that deliver extra cleaning power or added convenience,” says John Owen, senior household analyst for global market research firm Mintel, in the company’s November 2014 “Household Surface Cleaners” report.

Forward-thinking retailers have been cashing in on this growing demand by offering a multitude of store brand household cleaning products. As a result, store brand sales are up for the 52 weeks ending May 17. Total private label household cleaner sales hit $234.1 million, up 6 percent versus the same year-earlier period, reports Chicago-based market research firm Information Resources Inc. (IRI).

Dollar sales for the total household cleaners category rose 1.8 percent to reach $3,238.2 million.

Frugal consumers

Money-saving tactics shoppers use when shopping for household cleaners include seeking product sales, purchasing large sizes and buying at stores charging the least amount of money, Mintel relays. Most recently, the strongest performers have been products featuring simplicity, convenience and quick cleanups plus disinfection. Such products include all-purpose cleaners, disposable wipes and spray disinfectants. Meanwhile, the most labor-intensive cleaning products suffered the largest usage declines.

Reinforcing cleaning power remains an important marketing objective, Mintel stresses. Antibacterial action, easy usage, fast action and the ability to use the product on different surfaces are also desirable for many shoppers and could be leveraged as points of difference in brand marketing.

Store brand household cleaners are becoming more acceptable to a growing number of shoppers. Consumers’ desire to save money, coupled with the belief that store brands offer effective cleaning, could lead to private label gains in the future, Mintel predicts. More than one-third of household surface cleaner category purchasers, for example, agree that store brand cleaning products are as effective as name brands.

Mintel’s report also has more positive news regarding store brand products. Private label sales grew nearly 18 percent in the 52 weeks monitored in that report, and store brands gained 1.4 share points, surpassing the performance of the category’s major national brand competitors. This increase represents an acceleration of the steady growth that private label surface cleaners have achieved over the past five years. Private label’s growth has come almost entirely from retailers beyond supermarkets and drugstores, including value-oriented channels such as mass merchants, warehouse clubs and dollar stores.

Meet consumers’ needs

Retailers could find store brand opportunity in products that address more than one cleaning job.

“Instead of having one [household cleaner] for glass and one for furniture, open up shelf space by having one [household cleaner] that cleans glass and furniture, suggests Shervin Zade, CEO of U.S. Nonwovens Corp., Brentwood, N.Y.

Some consumers also want products offering a stronger cleaning efficacy, he adds.

Hygienic features, too, are important to many consumers. Mintel’s September 2014 “Household Cleaning Equipment — US” report says more than one-third of surveyed consumers who do housecleaning prefer disposable cleaning wipes because they feel they’re more hygienic than reusable cloths and sponges. Some cleaning equipment producers now include antibacterial treatments to sponges and other tools, while others tout product designs and materials that rinse clean, preventing food particles from getting trapped.

Environmentally friendly product or package claims also are appearing more and were featured on almost three-quarters of new launches in 2014, Mintel reports. This trend reflects launches from dedicated eco-friendly brands plus increasing numbers of green claims such as phosphate-free or biodegradable on the packaging of conventional brands.

Accounting for about 3 percent of the total retail household cleaner and laundry product industry, the green market is an important niche, notes Packaged Facts in its March “Green Household Cleaning and Laundry Products in the U.S.” report. Total retail sales of green cleaning products, including household cleaners and laundry products, totaled an estimated $600 million last year.

“Purex Natural Elements has done well by successfully convincing consumers that a value brand can be green,” says David Sprinkle, Packaged Facts’ research director. “And new private label green brands from leading retailers may succeed in attracting mainstream consumers. Walmart’s own brand, Great Value Naturals, could have the biggest impact on the green cleaner market.”

Four marketing trends are affecting the future growth and development of the green cleaners industry, the report claims. Successful brands such as Walmart’s Great Value Naturals tap into essential practices that include:

• ■ Third-party endorsements. Consumer skepticism, along with the lack of standards for green products, has caused manufacturers to secure as many third-party endorsements as possible. Endorsement from an independent group is meant to reassure consumers the products are what they claim to be, work and are safe.
• ■ Transparency. Consumers demand transparency and want to know which ingredients are used in products. They depend on marketers that are voluntarily disclosing cleaning product ingredients. More green cleaner manufacturers are posting product ingredients on their websites.
• ■ Promotion. Until mass marketers entered the scene in 2008 and 2009, traditional consumer product marketing featuring heavy advertising wasn’t usually used in the green cleaner market. Since 2010, promotional efforts in this market have relied on grass-roots and viral campaigns — including deals, sales, circular promotions, contests, events, sponsorships and community activities — and online videos to induce consumers to buy.
• ■ Extras. More green cleaner marketers have been adding product bundles and gift sets to their portfolios. Several products are generally sold together at a special price, which is designed to generate trial and increase brand exposure.

Effectiveness counts

Although multipurpose cleaners that clean different surfaces are becoming more popular, opportunities remain for exceptionally effective specialized cleaners. One-third of housecleaning consumers agree such products are generally more effective than all-purpose cleaners, and more than four in 10 agree cleaning products designed for specific tasks make cleaning easier, according to Mintel.

“I see an opportunity to make a product that will sell at a higher rate because of higher performance built into the formulation,” Zade says.

But Mintel cautions that the default choice for many consumers is a multipurpose cleaner, so specialized cleaner brands looking to increase sales must explain why a specialized product is best for a certain task.

Retailers also should consider the packaging in the quest to improve product effectiveness. Features that store brand household cleaner packaging should have to capture more consumer interest and maximize sales include specialty caps with special dispensing that promote less dripping, leaking and drying out — plus easier-to-use products, Zade says.

Do address consumers’ desire for convenience with multipurpose cleaners and cleaning wipes.

Don’t forget to educate consumers as to the benefits of specialized cleaners.

Do consider third-party endorsements for “green” household cleaners.

Don’t forget that the package is critical to cleaning products’ convenience and effectiveness.