Euromonitor International is publishing its Home Care 2016 edition. The new data highlight yet another year of solid value growth for the global home care products market, with value sales growing by 5% in current terms at fixed exchange rates, to reach US$140 billion.
However, Venezuela accounts for a disproportionate 10% share of absolute growth, owing to the country’s hyperinflation.
Excluding Venezuela from the data, global market size recorded 4% growth in 2015, reaching US$139 million. This still solid growth can be attributed to brand owners’ efforts continually to innovate with their products, the evolution of formulations, and rising disposable incomes in developing markets. However, there is more to the story than innovation and improved spending ability, as manufacturers in the market identify and exploit consumers’ changing living and cleaning habits across the globe.
Laundry care not such a concentrated affair
Laundry care remains the key category in driving the home care market, contributing 55% of 2015’s global - excl. Venezuela - home care value sales growth, growing by 5% to reach US$74 billion. The bulk of its sales derive from standard detergents, hand wash detergents and fabric softeners. These products are predominantly consumed in developing markets, especially powder formats in detergents. Better off consumers in developing markets are more inclined to buy concentrated options, and are keener to include fabric softeners in their laundry process.
Favouring multi-functionality in surface cleaners
Consumers are responding well to the convenience and hygiene offered by surface care products, global - excl. Venezuela - sales of which grew by 4% to reach US$19 billion in 2015. They accounted for 14% of 2015’s global home care value sales growth. Multipurpose cleaners was such a hit across the market spectrum that the category witnessed 7% value sales growth. The desire for the convenience offered by multipurpose cleaners was reflected in its seeing the highest value sales growth in absolute terms in 2015. Demand for hygiene-oriented products was supported by the Ebola epidemic in 2014 and 2015. Even though the epidemic was concentrated in West Africa, it raised awareness of hygiene globally, contributing to growth in home disinfectants and hygiene-oriented surface cleaners.
Hand Dishwashing to Persevere
Absolute value sales growth in global - excl. Venezuela - hand dishwashing detergents in 2015 was more than three times that for automatic dishwashing. This illustrates the magnitude of volume sales for the category, resulting from the more premium pricing of automatic detergents and the cost of owning an automatic dishwashing machine. This keeps penetration rates of automatic dishwashing low in developing markets. In developed markets, the automatic detergent category is riding on the wave of rising dishwasher penetration rates. The total category contributed 11% of home care’s global value sales growth in 2015, growing by 4% to reach US$16 billion.
Premiumisation is just not enough in air care
Air care contributed 5% of home care’s global - excl. Venezuela - value sales growth in 2015, with sales increasing by 3% to reach US$9 billion. This made it one of the least dynamic categories. The spray/aerosol format contributed the largest share of growth in air care, at 37%. Spray/aerosol remains the entry level for mid- to high-income consumers although remains a relatively premium option for low-income households. The latter in developing and emerging markets are looking to trade up from traditional or home-made formats to modern air care ones as disposable incomes grow, but air care’s non-essential status and manufacturers’ premium-oriented product development will not likely bring about dynamic growth in developing countries.
Sweltering summer boosts home insecticides
Home insecticides contributed 8% of home care’s global - excl. Venezuela - value sales growth in 2015, growing by 6% to reach US$8 billion. The category showed the most dynamic performance in home care, as consumers in the world’s three biggest economies experienced one of the hottest summers on record. The US saw its 12th hottest summer on record, while China and Japan saw their hottest on record, which gave rise to infestations of mosquitoes and crawling insects. In addition to this was the outbreak of mosquito-borne viruses, such as Zika in Latin America, which caused health concerns and drove up demand for home insecticides.
Toilet care outperforms bleach
Toilet care and bleach contributed 6% of home care’s global - excl. Venezuela - value sales growth in 2015 with toilet care growing by 5% and bleach by 4%, to reach a combined sales value of US$9 billion. Bleach sales were undermined by the growing popularity of multipurpose cleaners and home disinfectants. In contrast, toilet care maintained the solid performance seen over the 2010-2014 period due to the convenience offered by ITBs. Consumers’ preference for convenient products favoured toilet care sales. Demand for products such as disinfectant wipes and toilet care ITBs, as well as for sophisticated bleach-based products within laundry aid and surface care, led to strong growth for toilet care than for bleach.
Polishes lose their shine
Polishes contributed 1% of home care’s global - excl. Venezuela - value sales growth in 2015, growing by 3% to reach US$3.5 billion. This made it one of the least dynamic categories. Polishes showed a significant slowdown in value sales growth, as a result of lower floor polish sales, owing to a growing rental culture in developed markets and a preference for easy maintenance flooring in developing markets.