What you need to know

Next to food, household care is the category where consumers have most prioritized spending since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Cleaning is a way of preventing disease-causing germs, but in a world that’s increasingly uncertain, caring for the home is one of the few spheres of life where consumers still have a semblance of control. When we consider these trends in tandem with the unprecedented growth of ecommerce as the safer retail channel, household care products will see robust sales growth online. Changes in consumer purchase behavior have reached a milestone, where 66% of consumers have increased their purchase of household products online compared to 2019.

Key issues covered in this Report

  • The impact of COVID-19 on consumer behavior and the household care ecommerce market

  • Competitive strategies related to household care ecommerce

  • Consumer shopping habits online and in-store

  • Consumer attitudes toward household care ecommerce

  • Interest in ecommerce innovations

Definition

This Report focuses on how ecommerce is evolving for household care products, which include:

  • Fabric care

  • Dishwashing products

  • Hard surface care

  • Toilet care

  • Air care

  • Household paper products (toilet tissue, paper towels, facial tissues)

COVID-19: Market context

This Report was written July-August 2020.

The first COVID-19 case was confirmed in the US in January 2020. On March 11, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global health pandemic, and on March 13, President Trump declared a national emergency in the US. 

Across the US, state-level stay-at-home orders rolled out throughout the months of March and April, remaining in place through May, and in some cases June. During this time, referred to as lockdown, non-essential businesses and school districts across the nation closed or shifted to remote operations.

During reemergence, all 50 states have relaxed stay-at-home orders and allowed businesses to operate with varying levels of social distancing measures in place. The continued spread of COVID-19 infections has driven some states to slow down or reverse course on reopening plans. Mintel anticipates the US will remain in a state of flux through 2021, until a vaccine is available.

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