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Home Laundry Products: Incl Impact of COVID-19 - US - October 2020

OVERVIEW
What you need to know
Key issues covered in this Report
Definition
COVID-19: Market context
Economic and other assumptions
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 
Top takeaways
COVID-19 disrupts a static market
Figure 1: Total US sales and forecast of home laundry market, at current prices, 2015-25
Impact of COVID-19 on home laundry products
Figure 2: Short-, medium- and long-term impact of COVID-19 on home laundry products, October 2020
Opportunities and Challenges
Cleanliness now a matter of survival
Figure 3: Impact on laundry behavior from covid-19, by adults aged 25-34, parents, Hispanics aged 18-34, August 2020
Larger households an essential audience
Figure 4: Key laundry behaviors, by household size, August 2020
Beauty positioning for younger women
Figure 5: Key laundry behaviors and attitudes, by women aged 18-34, August 2020
THE MARKET – KEY TAKEAWAYS 
COVID fuels short-term growth
Detergent maintains dominate share of category, but bleach experiences strong growth
Warehouse stores and supercenters dominate sales
Pandemic gives a boost to online shopping
Women still bear most of the laundry burden
It’s all about hygiene
MARKET SIZE AND FORECAST 
Temporary bump likely to subside
Figure 6: Total US sales and fan chart forecast of home laundry market, at current prices, 2015-25
Figure 7: Total US sales and forecast of home laundry market, at current prices, 2015-25
Impact of COVID-19 on home laundry products
Figure 8: Short-, medium- and long-term impact of COVID-19 on home laundry products, July 2020
Lockdown
Re-emergence
Recovery
COVID-19: US context
SEGMENT PERFORMANCE 
Detergent dominates market, but is slow to grow
Figure 9: Market share of US retail sales of home laundry products, by segment, 2020
Retail distribution remains relatively stable
Figure 10: Sales of US retail sales of home laundry products, by retail channel, 2015-2020
MARKET FACTORS 
Pandemic, economy will alter how people shop
Figure 11: Household product shopping habits by channel, June 2019 and June 2020
Shifting household size
Help lighten the load for women
Figure 12: Laundry responsibility, among mothers and fathers, August 2020
MARKET OPPORTUNITIES 
New focus on hygiene will impact home laundry category
Figure 13: Laundry products with disinfectant claims, October 2020
Environmental impact becomes bigger focus
Figure 14: Laundry products with environmental claims, October 2020
COMPANIES AND BRANDS – KEY TAKEAWAYS 
P&G the main player in laundry
Supply chains drive success
Convenience, beauty, eco-claims on the rise
MARKET SHARE 
P&G leads a highly consolidated market
Figure 15: Sales of home laundry products, by company, 2019 and 2020
Henkel loses share to P&G
Figure 16: Sales of laundry detergent, by company and brand, 2019 and 2020
More competition seen in laundry care
Figure 17: Sales of laundry care products, by company and brand, 2019 and 2020
Clorox rides surge of interest in bleach
Figure 18: Sales of bleach, by company and brand, 2019 and 2020
COMPETITIVE STRATEGIES
Execute and innovate
“Dry shampoo for clothes” deliver convenience and eco-benefits
Figure 19: refresher spray products
Beauty bleeds into fabric care
Figure 20: Laundry products with beauty claims, October 2020
THE CONSUMER – KEY TAKEAWAYS  
Women carry most of the load
COVID-19 driving some increase in laundry frequency
Liquid detergent, dryer sheets most popular
Fighting stains while smelling great key for detergent
The smell of success
Educating around eco-claims could boost enthusiasm
LAUNDRY RESPONSIBILITY 
Shift in laundry responsibilities could be fueled by pandemic
Figure 21: Laundry responsibility, July 2019-August 2020
Generational factors impact gender roles
Figure 22: Laundry responsibility, by gender and age, July 2019-August 2020
Most affluent do less laundry
Figure 23: Laundry responsibility, by household income, July 2019-August 2020
Gender equality stronger in multicultural households
Figure 24: Laundry responsibility, by gender, race and Hispanic origin, July 2019-August 2020
LAUNDRY ROUTINES 
Frequency is driven by household size
Figure 25: Laundry frequency, by number of people in household, August 2020
Nearly one third doing laundry more often due to pandemic
Figure 26: Change in laundry frequency due to covid-19, by parental status, August 2020
City living encourages increase in laundering
Figure 27: Change in laundry frequency due to covid-19, by area of residence, August 2020
Older women undertake more pre-laundry tasks
Figure 28: Laundry routines, by age and gender, August 2020
LAUNDRY PRODUCT PURCHASING 
Liquid detergent highest seller
Figure 29: Laundry product purchases, August 2020
Older shoppers prefer liquid, bleach and stain removers
Figure 30: Laundry product purchases, by age and gender, August 2020
LAUNDRY DETERGENT IMPORTANT ATTRIBUTES
Looking and smelling clean most important
Figure 31: Laundry detergent important attributes, August 2020
Scent of stronger importance among younger demographics
Figure 32: Laundry detergent important attributes, by age and gender, August 2020
Scent, stain removal have the strongest reach
Figure 33: TURF analysis – laundry detergent important attributes, July 2020
Methodology
LAUNDRY CARE IMPORTANT ATTRIBUTES 
Scent, odor removal valued across most categories
Figure 34: Fabric care important attributes, August 2020
Scent is a higher priority than odor removal for scent boosters
Figure 35: TURF analysis – scent booster important attributes, July 2020
Functionality leads
Figure 36: TURF analysis – detergent boosters/sanitizers important attributes, July 2020
Methodology
Women focus on scent, men want odor removal
Figure 37: Scent booster important attributes, by gender and age, August 2020
ATTITUDES TOWARD LAUNDRY PRODUCTS 
Eco- and concentrated have room to grow
Figure 38: Attitudes toward laundry products, August 2020
Younger consumers more open to eco-products, particularly younger men
Figure 39: Select attitudes toward laundry products, by gender and age, August 2020
City dwellers slightly more interested in eco-friendliness
Figure 40: Attitudes toward laundry products, by area of residence, August 2020
APPENDIX – DATA SOURCES AND ABBREVIATIONS
Data sources
Sales data
Forecast
Consumer survey data
Abbreviations and terms
Abbreviations
APPENDIX – THE MARKET 
Figure 41: Total US sales and forecast of home laundry products, at inflation-adjusted prices, 2015-25
Figure 42: Sales of US retail sales of home laundry products, by segment, at inflation-adjusted prices, 2015-2020
APPENDIX – COMPANIES AND BRANDS 
Figure 43: Sales of fabric softener liquid, by company and brand, 2019 and 2020
Figure 44: Sales of fabric softener sheets, by company and brand, 2019 and 2020

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