Hispanics are a critical target for household cleaning brands as they account for almost one in five US consumers, live in larger households, and are more likely to have children. While they tend to be value-oriented when shopping for cleaning products, COVID-19 has put cleaning at a higher priority, and the majority of Hispanics are cleaning more frequently – and thus, spending more on cleaning. COVID-19 has also made it clear that highlighting functional attributes (such as antibacterial and anti-germ) are must-haves but are not enough to create differentiation. The challenge for cleaning brands is to keep the momentum going once the pandemic is under control and cleaning stops being imperative.

• The impact of COVID-19 on Hispanics and how their cleaning habits have changed.

• Why Hispanics are cleaning more (hint: COVID-19 drives cleaning, but there is more).

• How cleaning has become more proactive and protective as a line of defense.

• What attributes Hispanics consider important when choosing household cleaning products.

This Report was written in September 2020. Consumer research was fielded in May 2020 and reflects Hispanics’ attitudes and behaviors toward cleaning the house as COVID-19 restrictions on movement began to ease and businesses began to reopen across the US.

For the purposes of estimating Hispanics’ expenditures on household cleaning products, Mintel’s definition includes: air fresheners, dishwashing products, laundry care, household cleaners, household paper products, and household cleaning equipment (see Appendix – Data Sources and Abbreviations for category details).

Findings in this Report can be supplemented by analysis presented in Cleaning the House: Incl Impact of COVID-19 – US, April 2020; Black Consumers and Household Cleaning Trends: Incl Impact of COVID-19 – US, October 2020; and Hispanics and Shopping for Household Care – US, October 2019 as well as other Reports from Mintel’s Household and Multicultural libraries.

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 re-emergence, 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.

The analysis provided reflects an estimated range of the market’s prospects in the light of the upheaval caused by the COVID-19 crisis. Our economic assumptions are based on CBO 10-year economic projections released on July 2, 2020. The CBO expects US GDP to fall by 5.8% in 2020 and recover to 4.0% growth in 2021.Unemployment estimates from the CBO indicate a 10.6% rate for 2020 and declining to 8.4% for 2021, which is slightly more positive than initial expectations (11.5% in 2020 and 9.3% in 2021) though expectations are that it will remain above 5% through 2025.