Table of Contents
Scope and Themes
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- What you need to know
- Definition
- Data sources
- Sales data
- Consumer survey data
- Advertising creative
- Abbreviations and terms
- Abbreviations
- Terms
Executive Summary
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- The market
- Economic pressure continues to restrain category growth
- New products add spark, point to potential
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- Figure 1: Total U.S. sales and fan chart forecast of home laundry products, at current prices, 2007-17
- Market factors
- Wavering consumer sentiment keeps sales in check
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- Figure 2: Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan’s Index of Consumer Sentiment (ICS), 2007-12
- Market segmentation
- Laundry detergent sets pace for category with 69% of sales
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- Figure 3: Share of U.S. retail sales of home laundry products, by segment, 2010 and 2012
- Retail channels
- Supermarkets lose to drug stores, others
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- Figure 4: Share of U.S. retail sales of home laundry products, by retail channel, 2010 and 2012
- Leading companies
- Procter & Gamble dominates category sales
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- Figure 5: Manufacturer share of sales of home laundry products at FDMx, 2011 and 2012
- The consumer
- Laundry detergent use near universal, other product types show declines
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- Figure 6: Types of laundry products used by household, February 2007-March 2012
- Stain-fighting additives popular, pack detergents and scent boosters have room to grow
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- Figure 7: Interest in and trial of new home laundry products, May 2012
- Doing laundry a frequent and important task
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- Figure 8: Frequency of home laundry tasks, May 2012
- Home laundry shoppers are deal focused, but still brand conscious
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- Figure 9: Laundry detergent shopping behaviors, May 2012
- Laundry detergent attribute importance
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- Figure 10: Importance of laundry detergent attributes, very important, May 2012
- Fabric softener attribute importance
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- Figure 11: Importance of fabric softener attributes, very important, May 2012
- Home laundry attitudes
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- Figure 12: Home laundry attitudes, May 2012
- What we think
Issues in the Market
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- Is price the bottom line in laundry product purchase decisions?
- How big an idea is scent in the home laundry products category?
- What impact do multibenefit products have on overall category sales?
- What are the prospects for unit dose pack detergents?
Insights and Opportunities
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- Boosting boosters
- Millennials and the laundry
- Making the laundry aisle their own
Trend Applications
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- Trend: Make it Mine
- Trend: The Unfairer Sex
- 2015 Trend: Brand Intervention
Market Size and Forecast
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- Key points
- Economic pressure continues to restrain category growth
- Laundry detergent paces category
- New products add spark, point to potential
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- Figure 13: Total U.S. retail sales and forecast of home laundry products, at current prices, 2007-17
- Figure 14: Total U.S. retail sales and forecast of home laundry products, at inflation-adjusted prices, 2007-17
- Fan chart forecast
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- Figure 15: Total U.S. retail sales and fan chart forecast of home laundry products, at current prices, 2007-17
- Walmart sales
Market Drivers
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- Shaky consumer sentiment limits category growth
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- Figure 16: Home laundry product economizing shopping behaviors, May 2012
- Figure 17: Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan’s index of consumer sentiment (ICS), 2007-12
- Household growth slows, especially households with kids
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- Figure 18: Households, by presence of children, 2001-11
- Population shifts make home laundry market more diverse
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- Figure 19: Households with children by race and Hispanic origin of householder, 2011
- Figure 20: Population, by race and Hispanic origin, 2007-17
Competitive Context
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- Private label gives back gains
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- Figure 21: Private label market share in FDMx, by segment, 2007-12
- Stores accelerate pace of private label launches
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- Figure 22: Private label and name brand share of home laundry new product launches, 2007-12
- Eco-friendly brand growth stalls in mainstream channels
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- Figure 23: FDMx home laundry product sales of select brands positioned as environmentally friendly, 2007-12
- Sales in natural food stores gain, but represent only a sliver of total market
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- Figure 24: Natural supermarket sales of home laundry products, at current prices, 2009-11
Segment Performance
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- Key points
- Accounting for 69% of sales, laundry detergent sets pace for category
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- Figure 25: U.S. retail sales of home laundry products, by type, 2010 and 2012
Segment Performance—Laundry Detergent
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- Key points
- Flat sales in home laundry’s defining segment
- Value focus
- Unit dose packs may change shape of segment
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- Figure 26: Total U.S. retail sales and forecast of laundry detergent, at current prices, 2007-17
- Liquid detergents account for most sales, pods/packs expected to gain
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- Figure 27: FDMx share of laundry detergent subsegments, 2007-12
Segment Performance—Fabric Softener (Liquid)
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- Key points
- Scent boosters refresh segment sales
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- Figure 28: Total U.S. retail sales and forecast of liquid fabric softener, at current prices, 2007-17
Segment Performance—Fabric Softener (Sheets)
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- Key points
- Three years in, dryer bars appear to have helped to stabilize segment
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- Figure 29: Total U.S. retail sales and forecast of fabric softener sheets, at current prices, 2007-17
Segment Performance—Laundry Care
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- Key points
- Sales trends turn on the tug between results and convenience
- Offering it both ways
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- Figure 30: Total U.S. retail sales and forecast of laundry care, at current prices, 2007-17
- Prewashes and additives account for three quarters of laundry care sales
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- Figure 31: FDMx share of laundry care subsegments, 2007-12
Segment Performance—Bleach
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- Key points
- Bleach continues slide as consumers opt for easier, safer alternatives
- Clorox concentrates
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- Figure 32: Total U.S. retail sales and forecast of bleach, at current prices, 2007-17
Retail Channels
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- Key points
- Drug stores and other channels gain share
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- Figure 33: U.S. retail sales of home laundry products, by retail channel, 2010 and 2012
Retail Channels—Supermarkets
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- Key points
- Supermarkets lose share of category sales
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- Figure 34: U.S. supermarket sales of home laundry products, at current prices, 2007-12
Retail Channels—Drug Stores
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- Key points
- Drug stores benefit from aging population
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- Figure 35: U.S. drug store sales of home laundry products, at current prices, 2007-12
Retail Channels—Other Channels
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- Key points
- Other retailers offer different expressions of value
- Target highlights the newest innovations in the aisle
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- Figure 36: Other channel sales of home laundry products, at current prices, 2007-12
Leading Companies
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- Key points
- P&G maintains dominance in top segments
- Value positioning helps Church & Dwight move into number two spot
- Sun Products holds share
- Manufacturer sales of home laundry products
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- Figure 37: Manufacturer sales of home laundry products at FDMx, 2011 and 2012
Brand Share—Laundry Detergent
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- Key points
- Church & Dwight gains share with consumers looking to economize
- Sun goes oxi to fight stains
- Pod race begins, Tide grabs early lead
- Manufacturer sales of laundry detergent
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- Figure 38: Selected brand sales and market share of laundry detergent at FDMx, 2011 and 2012
Brand Share—Fabric Softener (Liquid)
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- Key points
- Scents increasingly define segment
- Downy Silk Touch reformulation focuses on fabric softening
- Manufacturer sales of liquid fabric softener
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- Figure 39: Selected brand sales and market share of liquid fabric softener at FDMx, 2011 and 2012
Brand Share—Fabric Softener (Sheets)
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- Key points
- P&G and Bounce hold commanding lead of segment
- Snuggle a far smaller but solid number two branded competitor
- Manufacturer sales of fabric softener sheets
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- Figure 40: Selected brand sales and market share of fabric softener sheets at FDMx, 2010 and 2011
Brand Share—Laundry Care
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- Key points
- Stain fighters set pace for laundry care segment
- Manufacturer sales of laundry care
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- Figure 41: Selected brand sales and market share of laundry care at FDMx, 2010 and 2011
Brand Share—Bleach
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- Key points
- Clorox holds off private label
- Clorox moves to concentrated formulas
- Manufacturer sales of bleach
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- Figure 42: Selected brand sales and market share of bleach at FDMx, 2010 and 2011
Innovations and Innovators
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- Laundry detergents account for half of category new product launches
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- Figure 43: Home laundry new product launches, by subcategory, 2007-12*
- Liquids dominate detergent launches, capsules on the rise
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- Figure 44: Laundry detergent new product launches, by product form, 2007-12
- Aromatherapy: scents a key focus for new product launches
- Cleaning and stain-fighting power
- Environmentally friendly development continues
Marketing Strategies
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- Overview: marketing spend for big brands dips in 2011
- Tide markets on multiple fronts, reinforcing megabrand status
- Tide fends off competitive packs with superior stain-fighting message
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- Figure 45: Tide Pods “Pop In, Stand Out” TV ad, 2012
- Tide campaign breaks from mom-rules-the-laundry-room perspective
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- Figure 46: Tide Total Care “Ninja” TV ad, 2012
- Tide online
- Downy Unstopables shakes up brand
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- Figure 47: Downy Unstopables “Jimmy’s Unstopable Tour” TV ad, 2012
- Downy base brand focuses on softening benefits and value
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- Figure 48: Ultra Downy Silk Touch “T-shirts” TV ad, 2012
- Downy online
- Bounce leverages form variety to drive usage
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- Figure 49: Bounce “Put ‘Em” TV ad, 2012
- Bounce online
- Arm & Hammer combines value pricing and cleaning effectiveness
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- Figure 50: Arm & Hammer Power Packs “Big Clean, Small Price” TV ad, 2012
- Arm & Hammer online
Household Use of Home Laundry Products
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- Key points
- Laundry detergent use near universal, other product types show declines
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- Figure 51: Types of laundry products used by household, February 2007-March 2012
- Young adults a little less likely to use some specialized laundry products
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- Figure 52: Types of laundry products used by household, by age, January 2011-March 2012
- Larger households use wider variety of products
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- Figure 53: Types of laundry products used by household, by household size, January 2011-March 2012
Brand Penetration
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- Key points
- Laundry detergent
- Tide leads all other detergent brands in household penetration
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- Figure 54: Brands of laundry soaps and detergents used by household, by age, January 2011-March 2012
- Lower-income detergent shoppers use more brands, more deal focused
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- Figure 55: Brands of laundry soaps and detergents used by household, by household income, January 2011-March 2012
- Boosters/presoaks/precleaners
- Shout used in more households, but OxiClean may be used more frequently
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- Figure 56: Brands of laundry booster/presoak/precleaner used by household, by household size, January 2011-March 2012
- Fabric softeners
- Downy liquid and Bounce sheets by far most popular brands
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- Figure 57: Brands of fabric softener used by household, by household income, January 2011-March 2012
- Bleach
- Clorox dominates bleach
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- Figure 58: Brands of bleach used by household, by household income, January 2011-March 2012
- Spray starch
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- Figure 59: Brands of spray starch used by household, by age, January 2011-March 2012
Incidence of Recent Product Purchase
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- Key points
- Women more likely to make recent purchases for most product types
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- Figure 60: Home laundry product purchase incidence, by gender, May 2012
- Recent purchase of most products peaks in 30s-50s
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- Figure 61: Home laundry product purchase incidence, by age, May 2012
Interest in and Trial of New Laundry Products
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- Key points
- In-wash stain-fighting additives the most popular specialized products
- Pack/pod detergents and in-wash scent boosters have room to grow
- Considerable upside for several specialized laundry products
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- Figure 62: Interest in and trial of new home laundry products, May 2012
- Younger adults open to wider variety of laundry products
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- Figure 63: Any interest in and trial of new home laundry products, by age, May 2012
- Shoppers from large households interested in a wide variety of laundry products
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- Figure 64: Any interest in and trial of new home laundry products, by household size, May 2012
Laundry Task Frequency
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- Key points
- Most households do multiple loads of laundry per week
- Ironing far less frequent
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- Figure 65: Frequency of home laundry tasks, May 2012
- Parent-aged adults do more laundry, younger adults more likely to do ironing
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- Figure 66: Frequency of home laundry tasks, by age, May 2012
- More people in the household means more loads of laundry per week
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- Figure 67: Frequency of home laundry tasks, by household size, May 2012
Home Laundry Product Shopping Behaviors
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- Key points
- Deal focused but still brand conscious
- Strong promotional response
- Promotions help leading brands hold their lead
- Store brands underdeveloped
- Just cutting price doesn’t cut it
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- Figure 68: Laundry detergent and fabric softener shopping behaviors, May 2012
- Women a little more deal focused than men
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- Figure 69: Laundry detergent shopping behaviors, by gender, May 2012
- Figure 70: Fabric softener shopping behaviors, by gender, May 2012
- Younger home laundry shoppers more likely to decide at the shelf
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- Figure 71: Laundry detergent shopping behaviors, by age, May 2012
- Figure 72: Fabric softener shopping behaviors, by age, May 2012
- Lower-income shoppers especially focused on value
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- Figure 73: Laundry detergent shopping behaviors, by household income, May 2012
- Figure 74: Fabric softener shopping behaviors, by household income, May 2012
Laundry Detergent Attribute Importance
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- Key points
- Stain-fighting power a key attribute, drives detergent line extensions
- Form, low-temperature effectiveness, and scent/fragrance also important
- Sustainability benefits of moderate importance
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- Figure 75: Importance of laundry detergent attributes, May 2012
- Women more attuned than men to laundry detergent attributes
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- Figure 76: Importance of laundry detergent attributes, by gender, May 2012
- Bigger households elevate importance of most detergent attributes
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- Figure 77: Importance of laundry detergent attributes, by household size, May 2012
Fabric Softener Attributes
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- Key points
- Scent/fragrance is as important as fabric softening, driving new products
- Downy base brand refocuses on softness with SilkTouch
- Eco-friendly attribute of only moderate interest in fabric softeners
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- Figure 78: Importance of fabric softener attributes, May 2012
- Women more engaged in segment
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- Figure 79: Importance of fabric softener attributes, by gender, May 2012
- Young purchasers have longer list of attributes to consider
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- Figure 80: Importance of fabric softener attributes, by age, May 2012
Home Laundry Attitudes
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- Key points
- Doing the laundry can deliver a strong emotional payoff
- Consumers see modest performance improvements in new products
- Even split between combination products and mixing for each load
- Store brands appear to have room to grow
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- Figure 81: Home laundry attitudes, May 2012
- Young adults less emotionally engaged, more interested in convenience
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- Figure 82: Home laundry attitudes, any agree, by age, May 2012
Impact of Race/Hispanic Origin
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- Key points
- Blacks, Hispanics tend to use wider array of home laundry products
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- Figure 83: Home laundry product purchase incidence, by race/Hispanic origin, May 2012
- Blacks do laundry less frequently but iron far more often
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- Figure 84: Frequency of home laundry tasks, by race/Hispanic origin, May 2012
- Cleaning power essential to black shoppers
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- Figure 85: Importance of laundry detergent attributes, by race/Hispanic origin, May 2012
- Hispanics value wide variety of fabric softener benefits
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- Figure 86: Importance of fabric softener attributes, by race/Hispanic origin, May 2012
- Non-whites more likely to show interest in new or specialized products
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- Figure 87: Any interest in and trial of new home laundry products, by race/Hispanic origin, May 2012
- Emotional side of laundry especially powerful for blacks and Hispanics
- Hispanics a key target for new products
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- Figure 88: Home laundry attitudes, any agree, by race/Hispanic origin, May 2012
Cluster Analysis
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- Figure 89: Target clusters, May 2012
- Satisfied Seniors
- Demographics
- Characteristics
- Opportunity
- Product Pros
- Demographics
- Characteristics
- Opportunity
- Massive Middles
- Demographics
- Characteristics
- Opportunity
- Laundry is Loves
- Demographics
- Characteristics
- Opportunity
- Cluster characteristic tables
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- Figure 90: Home laundry product purchase incidence, by target clusters, May 2012
- Figure 91: Frequency of home laundry tasks, by target clusters, May 2012
- Figure 92: Laundry detergent shopping behaviors, by target clusters, May 2012
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- Figure 93: Fabric softener shopping behaviors, by target clusters, May 2012
- Figure 94: Importance of laundry detergent attributes, by target clusters, May 2012
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- Figure 95: Importance of fabric softener attributes, by target clusters, May 2012
- Figure 96: Any interest in and trial of new home laundry products, by target clusters, May 2012
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- Figure 97: Home laundry attitudes, any agree, by target clusters, May 2012
- Cluster demographic tables
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- Figure 98: Target clusters, by demographics, May 2012
- Cluster methodology
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Custom Consumer Groups
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- Overview
- Presence of kids increases purchase incidence among both men and women
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- Figure 99: Home laundry product purchase incidence, by gender and presence of children in household, May 2012
- Moms somewhat more deal driven
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- Figure 100: Laundry detergent shopping behaviors, by gender and presence of children in household, May 2012
- Moms more attuned to key laundry detergent benefits
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- Figure 101: Importance of laundry detergent attributes, by gender and presence of children in household, May 2012
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- Figure 102: Importance of fabric softener attributes, by gender and presence of children in household, May 2012
- Kids change men’s laundry attitudes as much as or more than women’s
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- Figure 103: Home laundry attitudes, by gender and presence of children in household, May 2012
SymphonyIRI Group Builders—Key Household Purchase Measures
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- Overview of laundry detergent
- Liquid laundry detergent
- Consumer insights on key purchase measures
- Brand map
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- Figure 104: Brand map, selected brands of liquid laundry detergent buying rate, by household penetration, 52 weeks ending June 26, 2011
- Brand leader characteristics
- Key purchase measures
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- Figure 105: Key purchase measures for the top brands of liquid laundry detergent, by household penetration, 52 weeks ending June 26, 2011
- Powder laundry detergent
- Consumer insights on key purchase measures
- Brand map
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- Figure 106: Brand map, selected brands of powder laundry detergent buying rate, by household penetration, 52 weeks ending June 26, 2011
- Brand leader characteristics
- Key purchase measures
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- Figure 107: Key purchase measures for the top brands of powder laundry detergent, by household penetration, 52 weeks ending June 26, 2011
- Liquid fabric softener
- Consumer insights on key purchase measures
- Brand map
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- Figure 108: Brand map, selected brands of liquid fabric softener, by household penetration, 52 weeks ending June 26, 2011
- Brand leader characteristics
- Key purchase measures
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- Figure 109: Key purchase measures for the top brands of liquid fabric softener, by household penetration, 52 weeks ending June 26, 2011
- Fabric softener sheets
- Consumer insights on key purchase measures
- Brand map
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- Figure 110: Brand map, selected brands of fabric softener sheets, by household penetration, 52 weeks ending June 26, 2011
- Brand leader characteristics
- Key purchase measures
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- Figure 111: Key purchase measures for the top brands of fabric softener sheets, by household penetration, 52 weeks ending June 26, 2011
Appendix—Trade Associations
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