Spotlight on household cleaners
Spring is in full swing, which means many Americans are ready to dust off their furniture, mop their floors and scrub down their sinks, stoves, countertops and more. Therefore, retailers will want to make sure their shelves and racks are well-stocked with products that make their customers homes smell fresh and look lovely.
But simply placing those products on shelves isnt enough; shoppers have myriad options from which to choose in the household cleaners space. Thus, retailers need to make sure theyre properly pricing, placing and promoting their own-brand products here.
To learn what retailers are doing well and not so well here, we visited the household cleaners sections of three stores in Chicago: Dominicks (a Safeway banner), Marianos Fresh Market (a Roundys Supermarkets banner) and Whole Foods Market. Our visits took place on a Wednesday morning in late March.
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DominickS
General observations: The household cleaners section in this Dominicks store takes up most of an entire aisle near the front of the store (looking into the store from the front entrance). Foot traffic was very light in the section, probably because it still was early in the morning.
The store boasts store brand alternatives to a wide selection of national brand household cleaning supplies, with most of them under the Safeway and Bright Green brands. We also found some air freshener dispensers, refills and sprays under the Fresh Decor brand.
The upside:
- The section was clean, well-stocked and organized.
- The store offered Safeway brand 50-ounce Ultra Advanced Laundry Detergent and 50-ounce Ultra Advanced Free & Clear Laundry Detergents in a BOGO deal.
- A cardboard Fresh Decor display at the end of the aisle merchandised a number of the brands air freshener products.
The downside:
- The store hung various sponges, household gloves and more on racks throughout the section, but did not include any store brand products on the racks.
Marianos Fresh Market
General observations: This Marianos stores household cleaners section takes up one side of an aisle near the back of the store (looking into the store from the front entrance). Foot traffic was dead in the section, with no one entering it while we were browsing.
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Like the Dominicks store we visited, this store stocks store brand alternatives to a wide number of national brand household cleaning supplies, with almost all of the store brand alternatives offered under the Roundys brand. The other store brand in this section is Full Circle, a brand of natural and organic products from Skokie, Ill.-based Topco Associates.
The upside:
- The section was clean, well-stocked and organized.
- The store placed tags communicating discounts (25 percent or 33 percent) or sporting "compare and save" statements underneath a number of Roundys brand household cleaning supplies.
The downside:
- Several Roundys brand products were priced higher than their national brand counterparts. For example, a 75-ounce bottle of Roundys AutoDish Detergent Original cost $4.99, while its Cascade brand counterpart cost $4.69.
- The store did not price shield some of its Roundys brand products when the national brands were on promotion. For example, we found an 11-ounce bottle of Ultra Gain dish detergent on sale for $1.99 (10 cents off), while its Roundys brand counterpart cost $2.09.
Whole Foods Market
General observations: This Whole Foods stores household cleaners section takes up most of one side of an aisle situated on the left-hand side of the center store (looking into the store from the front entrance). Foot traffic was dead in the aisle, with no one entering while we were browsing. Of the three stores we visited, this one has the smallest selection of household cleaners.
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Store brands we found here include Whole Foods Market, 365 Everyday Value and Green Mission. The only national brand boasting more than a few SKUs in this space is Seventh Generation, a brand of sustainable cleaning, paper and personal-care products.
The upside:
- The department was clean, well-stocked and organized.
- On the left-hand side of the center store, the store set up an elaborate spring-cleaning-themed end-cap display merchandising Green Mission surface wipes and bottles of Whole Foods Market glass cleaner alongside Green Mission paper towels and national brand household gloves.
- Underneath many store brand and some national brand products, the store placed tags with a colored "Eco-Scale" symbol to help shoppers determine how environmentally friendly each product is. It also hung a "Quality Standards for Household Cleaning Products" poster on the wall to help shoppers interpret the symbols.
The downside:
- We found a Whole Foods Market brand 25-ounce dish soap that was pricier than the Seventh Generation counterpart standing next to it ($3.99 vs. $2.99).
- The store hung tags advertising discounts beneath a number of national brand products, but it did nothing to communicate the value of its store brand household cleaners.
Make it shine
Retailers cant sample household cleaners in their stores in the same way they sample fruit snacks or prepared pieces of frozen pizza. Therefore, they need to rely on packaging and merchandising to make their own-brand household cleaners stand out.
On the packaging side, retailers should consider investing in unique designs that truly differentiate their household cleaners from their national brand counterparts, says Steve Berry, founder and general manager of GreenBlendz Inc., Auburn Hills, Mich.
"We always recommend a custom bottle design," Berry says. "The stock look next to a national brand looks weaker. A well-designed custom bottle with a well-designed label and branding will stand on its own."
Grant Greene, vice president of sales and marketing with Tempe, Ariz.-based Mountain Green, agrees.
"Certainly, it may cost a little more upfront to hire someone to design a bottle and label combo that really pops and draws the eye, but retailers will see that investment come back to them quickly in increased sales," he says.
But even the freshest-looking design eventually will look dated. Therefore, retailers should make the investment to update package designs every 18 to 24 months, says Rishi Raj, an independent retail consultant working with ana Aqualine, which manufactures polyurethane, viscose and basotect for a wide variety of dishwashing sponges and household cleaning scourers. And packaging for every cleaning product in a line should be somewhat consistent in appearance and messaging.
Still, a snazzy design doesnt mean a whole lot if the package is difficult to use, says Eric Hanks, southwest regional sales manager with Addison, Ill.-based Earth Friendly Products.
"While the packaging has to attract the consumer, be sure to not overlook the practicality of the package," he explains.
Packaging also might not be successful in helping to win the sale if the retailer prints a "compare to" statement on it, Berry notes.
"This makes it look like a cheap knockoff, which does not establish any emotive reason to try the brand or [communicate] true value," he explains. "Point out what the store brand stands for — why its good, better [or] best."
In terms of merchandising, retailers need to make sure their private label household cleaners are "front and present," says Tim McAvoy, vice president of Olds Products and Fitzpatrick Bros., based in Pleasant Prairie, Wis., and Quincy, Ill., respectively.
"The promotion can be a simple trade promotion, but cross-promotions also work well," he says. "As an example, powder or liquid cleaners can be cross-promoted with scrub brushes, scrubbing pads or sponges. End caps can be created that feature three, four or five items."
Pricing also is critical to capturing the sale. McAvoy says retailers should create a compelling price delta to increase the likelihood of trial. He also recommends bundling items in "10 for $10" or "five for $5" deals.