There is much more to the household category than meets the eye, and to truly make the most from it, retailers must understand it like they do any other category, which means keeping on top of trends and new product launches.
The three biggest sectors in the household category are dishcare (£438m at a total UK level), aircare (£338m) and surface care (£320m), followed by toilet care (£188m), bleach (£87m) and polish (£78m). At a convenience level, surface cleaners have a value of £21.8m, with Flash still the largest brand within the category and making up 31.9% of the convenience market. The aircare category is worth £15.9m in convenience, with P&G brands Febreze and Ambi Pur comprising 25% of that share. Within dishcare in convenience stores, hand dish products (e.g. washing up-liquids) command a considerably bigger share than auto dish products (for dishwashers) – although that picture reverses at a national level. P&G brand Fairy has a 61.7% value share of the hand dish sub-category in the convenience channel.
So what does this all mean for convenience retailers? P&G’s Brand Manager Homecare UK&I, Will Herbertson, explains: “Household products can sometimes be a last-minute purchase, playing directly into the hands of convenience retailers and with the move towards local top-up shopping and the growth of the channel overall, shoppers are increasingly looking for stores to meet their homecare product needs.”
The average homecare category shopper visits their local convenience store 3.9 times a week and spends £9.72 per trip. Availability and value for money are the most important factor for household shoppers, so it’s essential that retailers stock leading brands and ensure pricing is clearly visible. With so many leading brands P&G is continually launching new products in the category, including Flash Liquid Gel and the upgrade of our Flash Task Sprays.
Earlier this year, Unilever UK introduced a number of new and innovative products into the toilet and bleach segments – where its Cif and Domestos brands are among the UK’s biggest. Trang Pham, Brand Manager for Household Cleaning at Unilever UK, says: “Innovation is key and, as leaders of the household cleaning category, we are expanding our portfolio to include a selection of ground-breaking products, which will not only drive excitement into the category but also cater to the growing consumer demand for convenient products that provide exceptional cleaning results.” Cif’s big new product this year is Cif Express Direct to Floor cleaner, a mess-free, convenient cleaning product supported by a £1.7m marketing spend. In addition, wipes is a format that is driving growth into the household cleaning category at +5% year-on-year and Cif is capitalising on this with the launch of its Cif Antibacterial Floor Wipes Domestos meanwhile is launching its latest instalment in its fight against germs with Domestos Ultra White and Sparkle Bleach which cleans and whitens the toilet using the brand’s patented Extended Germ-Kill formula.
Domestos has also launched a new multi-jet nozzle for its Total Blast Toilet Gel to ensure better reach under the toilet rim. Over at 151 Products, a supplier of discount household products, Managing Director Richard Shonn, says: “Over the last few years, the household cleaning market has developed into one of the top performing categories for many of our independent retail customers. So it’s no surprise that the sector has shown continued growth throughout 2013 and welcomed multiple product innovations to service the changing needs of the modern day consumer.” He says that key lines to stock are easy-to-use cleaning wipes and sprays, plus room air fresheners– which make up two of 151 Products’ top-performing household brands; Duzzit and Pan Aroma. As always, price-marked packs will continue to be a popular sell during 2014. These promotions help to create an instant purchase and allow for the customer perception of increased value for money.
