Table of Contents
Overview
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- What you need to know
- Key issues covered in this Report
- Definition
- Economic and other assumptions
- COVID-19: US context
Executive Summary
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- Top takeaways
- Capitalize on higher engagement with the category
- Extend homecare further into wellness
- Impact of COVID-19 on cleaning the house
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- Figure 1: Immediate, short-term and long-term impact of COVID-19 on housecleaning, April 2021
- Opportunities and challenges
- Cater to a more involved consumer
- Use parents as a test market for new concepts
- Reception to new innovation could be fleeting
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- Figure 2: Will disinfect less after the pandemic and those who have increased their germ-management knowledge, by age and gender, January 2021
- Bridge the mainstream/natural divide
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- Figure 3: COVID-19 has shifted priorities away from natural toward disinfecting, by natural product clusters, April 2020
Target Audience – Key Takeaways
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- Impact of COVID-19 on cleaning the house
- The digital divide is narrowing, but the stakes have never been greater
- Bridge the mainstream/natural divide
- Strike while the iron is hot
- Broaden the focus of homecare into wellness
Target Audience by the Numbers
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- Most consumers have some responsibility for cleaning and shopping
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- Figure 4: Household cleaning responsibility, January 2021
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- Figure 5: Household cleaning product shopping responsibility, January 2021
- Impact of COVID-19 on cleaning the house
- Learnings from the Great Recession
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- Figure 6: Immediate, short-term and long-term impact of COVID-19 on housecleaning, April 2021
- Lockdown
- Reemergence
- Recovery
Market Factors
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- The digital divide is narrowing, but the stakes have never been higher
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- Figure 7: US citizens with internet access, by income, 2000-2019
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- Figure 8: Change in online shopping for household products, June 2019 and June 2020
- The growing economic divide calls for new value tier strategies
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- Figure 9: US unemployment rate and underemployment rate, January 2019-September 2020
- The declining US birthrate will reduce category power users
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- Figure 10: Cleaning behaviors, by parental status, January 2021
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- Figure 11: US households, by presence of related children, 2008-18
Market Opportunities
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- Look at the factors driving change
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- Figure 12: Sample change drivers relevant to post-pandemic homecare opportunities, 2021
- Bridge the mainstream/natural divide
- Strike while the iron is hot
- Broaden the focus of homecare into wellness
Companies and Brands – Key Takeaways
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- The pandemic has created a more competitively dynamic market
- P&G maintains dominance; durable product brands expand
- Watch for disruption from secondary players
- Public Goods is emerging as a key player in natural abrasives
- Growing influence from personal care
- Defunkify’s enzymes keep clothes fresh and remove COVID-19
Competitive Strategies
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- The pandemic has created a more competitively dynamic market
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- Figure 13: COVID-19 has shifted priorities away from natural toward disinfecting, by natural product clusters, April 2020
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- Figure 14: Using unfamiliar brands, by age of child, January 2021
- Private label continues its run
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- Figure 15: Select household categories, MULO one-year sales growth, private label vs market, latest available 12-month performance, 2018-21
- Disinfectants rule the day
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- Figure 16: Clorox Disinfecting Wipes and Lysol Max Cover Disinfecting Mist
Spotlight on Cleaning Tools/Mops/Brooms
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- P&G maintains dominance; durable product brands expand
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- Figure 17: Essential Everyday melamine sponge and Mr. Clean Magic Eraser Sheets
- Watch for disruption from secondary players
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- Figure 18: Multi-outlet sales of cleaning tools/mops/brooms, by leading companies and brands, rolling 52 weeks 2020 and 2021
- Public Goods and 3M drive the emerging arena of natural abrasives
- 3M’s natural sponges are the biggest, but show a sales decline
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- Figure 19: Public Goods’ Walnut Scrubber Sponge and 3M’s Greener Clean
- Figure 20: Zero Waste Club’s Coconut Dish Scrubber
- Figure 21: Multi-outlet sales of sponges and scouring pads, by leading companies and brands, rolling 52 weeks 2020 and 2021
- Growing influence from personal care
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- Figure 22: Earthling’s solid dish soap and Life Without Plastic’s Dilatable Laundry Bar
- Defunkify’s enzymes keep clothes fresh and remove COVID-19
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- Figure 23: Defunkify Active Wash Laundry Detergent
The Consumer – Key Takeaways
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- Gender balance grows
- More than half of consumers are cleaning more often
- Parents out-clean non-parents
- Interest in probiotics ticks upward
- Automation will become more accessible
- Consumers work on homecare skills while in lockdown
Cleaning Responsibility
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- Gender balance grows … depending on whom you ask
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- Figure 24: Cleaning responsibility, by marital status, January 2020 and January 2021
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- Figure 25: Cleaning responsibility, by age and gender, January 2021
- Mintel Trend Driver Rights ties domestic chores to social equity
Cleaning Frequency
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- More than half of consumers are cleaning more often
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- Figure 26: Frequency of cleaning, January 2020 and January 2021
- Parents out-clean non-parents
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- Figure 27: Frequency of cleaning, by age of child(ren), January 2021
Reasons for Cleaning More Often
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- Consumers clean more often to protect against disease and to relax
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- Figure 28: Reasons for cleaning more often, January 2021
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- Figure 29: Cleaning more to protect against viruses, by age, January 2021
Preferred Product Attributes
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- Figure 30: Preferred household cleaner product attributes, January 2020 and January 2021
- Interest in probiotics ticks upward
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- Figure 31: Interest in probiotic cleaners, by age and parental status, January 2021
- Mintel Trend Driver Wellness highlights evolution of safety
- Consumers prioritize convenience and efficacy
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- Figure 32: TURF analysis – Preferred cleaning product attributes, January 2021
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- Figure 33: Table - TURF analysis – Preferred cleaning product attributes, January 2021
- Methodology
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Attitudes toward Cleaning
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- Pandemic increases the desire for disposables
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- Figure 34: Attitudes toward cleaning the house, January 2021
- Automation will become more accessible
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- Figure 35: Interest in and use of cleaning robots, by age and income, January 2021
Cleaning Behaviors
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- COVID-19 drives new cleaning behaviors
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- Figure 36: Behaviors related to cleaning the house, January 2021
- Most consumers will keep disinfecting when the pandemic is over
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- Figure 37: Will disinfect less after the pandemic and those who have increased their germ-management knowledge, by age and gender, January 2021
- Consumers work on homecare skills while at home
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- Figure 38: Focus on skill development, by age, January 2021
- The pandemic has created more experimental shoppers
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- Figure 39: Using unfamiliar brands, by select demographics, January 2021
Appendix – Data Sources and Abbreviations
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- Data sources
- Sales data
- Consumer survey data
- Abbreviations and terms
- Abbreviations
- Terms
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