Bath and Shower in South Africa

PRE-COVID-19 PERFORMANCE

Value for money is important, maintaining strong sales of bar soap

In 2019, bath and shower maintained a similar dynamic current value growth rate to that seen in the previous couple of years. Bar soap remained by far the dominant category in terms of value and volume sales.

Rising interest in health and wellness boosts demand for natural ingredients

In bath and shower, as in other categories, increasing demand for natural products has seen product innovation focus on natural, traditional, organic and less chemically harmful ingredients, in line with consumers’ interest in health and wellness. An increasingly informed population has led to growing demand for such products amongst middle- to high-income consumers, given concerns about their wellness.

Unilever maintains its lead but sees a strong share decline

Established international players continued to lead bath and shower in 2019. Unilever South Africa maintained the leading position overall in value terms, thanks to its leading position in both the largest categories, bar soap and body wash/shower gel, with well-known brands such as Lux, Sunlight and Lifebuoy.

2020 AND BEYOND

COVID-19 impact

Bath and shower is now expected to grow by 3% in 2020 in 2019 constant value terms in light of the impact of COVID-19. This compares to an expected 2% rise forecast for 2020 during research conducted at the end of 2019, before the spread of COVID-19.

Affected products within bath and shower

Although overall bath and shower is expected to see a slightly stronger value performance than previously anticipated in 2020, the impact is not expected to be equal across categories. The desire to maintain good hygiene to prevent the spread of the virus is expected to lead to particularly strong performances for liquid soap, which includes hand sanitiser, and bar soap.

Recovery and opportunities

Although bath and shower is expected to see a slight rise in demand due to COVID-19 in 2020, the direct impact is likely to be short-lived, with the growth rate returning to a more moderate increase in 2021. Nevertheless, the rate of growth is expected to pick up once again as the forecast period progresses, as the economy gradually starts to recover and as hygiene products are essential and likely to remain more important in consumers’ lives moving forward.

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