Like all consumers, Black consumers are concerned with COVID-19 and are responding by taking control of what they can – the health and safety of their households. While the pandemic continues to threaten health and personal finances, Black consumers’ approach to cleaning their homes will include a greater focus on prevention and protection along with reactive and routine cleaning. Trusted name brands for the most critical cleaning activities where germ-killing and disinfecting are important will remain the preferred option. However, the COVID-19 recession will also create more opportunity for private label products and less-familiar brands to make it into this shopper’s basket if they can convince consumers that performance is comparable at a lower price.

This Report was written in October 2020. Consumer research was fielded in early March 2020 and reflects attitudes and behaviors as the COVID-19 pandemic escalated to a national health emergency and began to impact people’s lives.

• The impact of COVID-19 on Black consumers and their approach to spending on household cleaning products

• Which cleaning products are most critical for Black consumers and how their usage compares to the general market and the categories that command more brand loyalty

• What product attributes Black consumers look for when shopping for household cleaning products

• How cleaning product brands can meet Black consumers’ needs and what messages resonate most

For the purposes of estimating Black consumers’ 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).

This Report examines Black consumers’ approach to cleaning their homes, including their involvement in cleaning chores and their attitudes and approach to housecleaning, as well as the attributes they look for in cleaning products and attitudes toward cleaning brands.

This Report builds upon analysis from Black Consumers and Cleaning the House – US, August 2018. Mintel Reports such as Cleaning the House: Incl Impact of COVID-19 – US, April 2020, The Impact of COVID-19 on Household and Personal Care – US, June 2020 and Hispanics and Household Cleaning Trends: Incl Impact of COVID-19 – US, October 2020 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 prompting consumers to stockpile what they deemed to be essential products including household paper products and household cleaners.

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, nonessential businesses and school districts across the nation closed or shifted to remote operations. While people sheltered in place, the demand for household cleaning products did not abate. Stepped-up cleaning efforts along with the experience of empty store shelves at the initial stages of the pandemic compelled consumers to continue to purchase household cleaners at an accelerated rate.

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. During this time, household cleaning will continue to be top-of-mind though the approach will be more measured and less reactionary. Household cleaning brands, name brands as well as private label, will continue to see greater sales.

The analysis provided reflects an estimated range of the market’s prospects in 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 before 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.