subject: The Future Of Laundry Care: Capitalizing On Emerging Trends And Changing Preferences [print this page] "Introduction "Introduction
The laundry care market in established economies is resistant to change and is characterized by some degree of inertia. However, consumers' preferences and product innovations are gradually evolving even in the most stable markets, with marked change occurring in emerging markets, as relative affluence increases and the approach to laundry care progresses.
Scope
*Covers laundry care, with a thorough exploration of market value and volume figures at the category level
*Detailed analysis on consumer attitudes towards, and perceived influence of, different product features and benefits impacting choice
*In-depth action points offering practical strategies based on the trends and insights uncovered in the report
*Covers five major geographic territories: North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, MENA and Latin America
Highlights
The sales of laundry detergents, as a proportion of overall laundry care products are lowest in Saudi Arabia (55.9%) and Japan (58.5%) and highest in Russia (84.7%) and India (84.5%).
In Sweden, conditioners account for less than 4% of the market value, but as much as 32.2% in Saudi Arabia; a significant variance. Where conditioner sales are relatively low, producers should attempt to increase sales or bundle the ingredients and price of conditioners into the price of complete multi-function detergents.
For Indian consumers, natural ingredients are indeed a high level concern (for 72.8% vs. 76.1% for ease of use). In India, the high prevalence of washing by hand makes natural ingredients more welcome for consumers due to their enhanced gentleness on the skin.
Reasons to Purchase
*Develop better targeted products with detailed understanding of laundry care needs and preferences of consumers across 17 countries
*Access data analysis from two waves of primary consumer research, and best practice examples of innovative and effectively marketed products
*Improve your marketing with best-practice examples. Develop action plans using Datamonitor's recommendations as a catalyst for idea generation
Table of Contents :
Overview 1
Catalyst 1
Summary 1
Table of Contents 2
Table of figures 3
Table of tables 4
THE FUTURE DECODED 5
INTRODUCTION 5
Consumers' laundry product choices are influenced by a variety of inherent and product-external factors 5
TREND: The laundry care market shows slow value growth in mature national markets 7
Sales of detergents form the bulk of the laundry care market 8
Consumer spending on fabric conditioner varies widely 9
Stain removers are also an important section of the laundry care market 10
Key takeouts and implications: The value of the laundry market is likely either to remain stable or experience slight growth or decline 11
TREND: The volume of the laundry care market is likely to decline in the short term 12
Consumers can still be encouraged to use fabric conditioners more extensively 13
Key takeouts and implications: volume gains in emerging economies will be offset by apparent losses in established markets 15
INSIGHT: Inherent product attributes matter to consumers, but are not everything 15
Product effectiveness is taken as a given by consumers 16
Men's view of product performance differs from that of women 17
Natural ingredients have been a key area of product development but elicit little consumer response 18
Gender differences are slight in relation to natural ingredients 19
Consumers value the fragrance or scent of laundry products 22
Women greatly appreciate the fragrance profile of their preferred laundry products 23
Time saving products appeal to consumers but are aligned with one of the least important core attributes 24
Women value time-saving laundry products more than men 26
Among inherent product features, multi-function convenience is moderately important as a purchase driver 26
Multi-functionality in laundry products appeals to men 27
Consumers want ease of use as a given 28
Ease of use is a major consideration for women in laundry product choice 29
Key takeouts and implications: inherent product attributes enjoy varying levels of importance for consumers. 30
INSIGHT: Attributes of the 'extended product' have widely varying effects on purchase 31
Price has a high importance for consumers for many reasons 31
Price divides opinion between men and women in differing ways 32
Consumers are not inclined to consider ethics when buying laundry products 33
The differing importance of ethics to men and women consumers is slight 35
Consumers buy ethical and eco-friendly household and laundry products (marginally) more frequently than those with natural ingredients 35
Consumers state that brand image has little influence in their shopping choices 37
Brand image is both one of the least consequential and most gender-neutral purchase drivers 38
Key takeouts and implications: the concept of the extended product has the greatest effect on consumers' purchases of laundry products 39
INSIGHT: Storage is a low level purchase driver for consumers 40
Ease of storage is at present a moderate concern for consumers 40
Men are relatively appreciative of easy storage 41
Key takeouts and implications: product storage is a minor consideration for consumers 42
INSIGHT: Consumers feel that inertia has little effect on their laundry care purchases 43
Inertia varies among consumers of different countries 43
Women are greater brand adherents than men 45
Inertia at the household level is thought to have only a minor impact 46
Men buy the brands they think other members of their households want 46
Key takeouts and implications: the laundry care market is affected by inertia, but consumers believe they are open to change 47
INSIGHT: Consumers feel that many marketing techniques do not affect their behavior 48
Consumers do not recognize word-of-mouth as an important influence on their laundry care purchases 48
Men and women attribute similar importance to word-of-mouth recommendations 49
Free product samples have a moderate effect on consumer behavior 50
Women appreciate free samples of laundry care products 51
The importance of promotional offers to consumers varies widely by national market 52
Consumers view promotional offers differently according to retail norms in their home market 53
Key takeouts and implications: marketing tactics are not regarded as influential but their necessity cannot be denied 54
ACTION POINTS 55
ACTION: Target the rich variety of clothing colors, shades and finishes 55
ACTION: Cater for the variety of garment fabrics available to consumers 56
ACTION: Formulate effective products to clean exercise clothing 57
ACTION: Tailor detergents to specific washing tasks 58
ACTION: Address the polarizing demographic trends in many countries 59
ACTION: Make skin sensitivity a core theme of product development 61
ACTION: Address the clothes drying needs of consumers 61
ACTION: Cater to the money-saving preferences of recession-inspired consumers 62
ACTION: Use packaging to create stand-out shelf presence 64
ACTION: Consider the possibilities beyond traditional laundry detergents 65
