Home Care

In 2023, a decline in the amount of time spent at home post-pandemic led to a concomitant reduction in the use of air care products, thereby constraining volume growth in this area. Economic uncertainties and inflation also prompted local consumers…

Volume sales for air care in Belgian continued to fall in 2023, with the category’s products widely regarded as non-essential and thus not included on the shopping list for the many households grappling with tighter spending budgets. Inflationary…

Air care did not escape the spike in retail current unit prices in 2022 and 2023 due to high inflationary pressure. As in other home care categories, this brought higher inputs costs (energy, materials, labour, shipping, etc) and resulted in…

Sales of air care continued to decline in retail volume terms in 2023. Air care is not generally considered an essential product and therefore as France's economy came under growing pressure in 2022 and 2023 demand continued to drop with consumers…

Throughout 2022 and 2023, sales of air care products were negatively impacted by tough economic conditions, which saw cash-strapped consumers seek to rationalise their expenditure by switching away from non-essential products. This was accompanied by…

Air care was one of the top performers in home care in 2023, recording the third highest retail value growth after surface care and home insecticides. In terms of volume, the only formats experiencing volume declines were gel air fresheners and car…

Post-COVID-19, sales of bleach have been declining in Austria due to growing consumer concerns about its strong chemical composition. During the pandemic, local consumers sought strong cleaners to reduce the risk of infection. Although many consumers…

Bleach witnessed a remarkable turnaround in fortunes in 2020 with it seen as an affordable and effective home care solution. This dynamism was short lived however with sales tumbling in 2021 and 2022 as restrictions were eased and then lifted, and…

Bleach witnessed a spike in retail volume sales in 2020 in light of the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic as households prioritised cleanliness and hygiene in the face of the virus threat. However, demand has normalised and returned to pre-pandemic…

Sales of bleach declined in retail volume terms in 2023 with value growth largely due to price rises rather than an increase in demand. Nonetheless, while volume sales continued to decline in 2023 this was at a slower pace than expected, as rising…

Volume sales of bleach continued to decline in 2023, although demand remained above pre-pandemic levels. Increasingly viewed as an old-fashioned product, bleach enjoyed a major resurgence in 2020, due to its well-recognised sanitising properties,…

Bleach continued to register declining retail volume sales in 2023, with overall demand falling in comparison to previous years, as UK consumers are favouring multipurpose cleaners with disinfectant properties. Due to the cost-of-living crisis,…

In 2023, dishwashing saw moderate current growth, mostly driven by hand dishwashing products. Post-pandemic, there has been a decline in volume sales as local consumers spend more time dining out, reduce the number of meals prepared and eaten at home…

Dishwashing in Belgium is a fairly mature category and not especially susceptible to trends, sustaining stability in terms of volume sales. A previous decline turned to positive growth in 2023, which was somewhat curbed thanks to rising energy costs…

Inflation continued to translate into higher retail price points in 2023. Higher manufacturer and retailer input costs, for example, increased operating costs like material sourcing, rental levels and salary costs, leading to higher price points.…

With households seeing a drop in their disposable income in 2023 promotions became the number one driver of sales of dishwashing products. Many people stocked up on supplies when there were attractive prices on offer, meaning that volume sales tended…

Dishwashing in Italy saw strong growth doing the pandemic, but in 2023 sales continued to normalise as consumers continued to return to pre-pandemic routines, spending more time dining in foodservice channels and with friends and family, and less…

Dishwashing in the UK recorded strong single-digit value growth in current terms in 2023, owing to the continued dynamic performance of automatic dishwashing tablets. The latter’s growth is mainly because using a dishwasher is deemed more convenient,…

In 2023, home care recorded current value growth, primarily driven by price increases attributable to inflation and, in a few instances, premiumisation and innovation. The escalating time constraints of local consumers have fuelled the demand for…

Home care in Belgium remained under pressure in 2023, with high inflation leading to price hikes and consumers prioritising their spending in order to save money. As a result, many consumers bought and used home care products with much less frequency…

Retail current value sales of home care rose in 2023, underpinned by the effects of an inflationary climate on retail selling prices. Higher prices enabled players to drive current value growth amid the general downward trajectory of home care retail…

Home care in France witnessed a notable decline in retail volume terms in 2023, with value growth largely sustained by elevated inflation within the country. This category, which traditionally follows a stable and consistent trajectory, experienced a…

Value growth in home care in Italy in 2023 was primarily supported by high inflation, bringing up unit prices as volume sales slowed or declined. Though pandemic-related fears of virus infection through surface contact have waned, Italian consumers…

While demand for home care continued to decline marginally in 2023, overall retail volume sales remained above pre-pandemic levels, as certain habits have persisted in the UK. The explanation for this decline is two-fold: greater mobility has seen…

In Austria, the rise in insects attributed to increasing temperatures linked with climate change has led to a significant increase in the demand for insecticide baits in 2023. Hospitality and tourism operators have also sought methods to control…

Global warming has been creating environmental changes and conditions that have naturally had a significant and largely positive impact on demand for home insecticides in Belgium - the warmer climate is attracting more mosquitos and exotic insects.…

As in other categories of home care, inflationary pressure amid high input prices, supply chain disruptions, high freight costs and higher labour costs all informed upward movements in retail selling prices towards the end of the review period,…

Home insecticides continued to record growth in retail volume terms in 2023, continuing the pattern seen in the previous year. France experienced one of its hottest summers on record with the weather playing a key role in driving the demand for home…

The increasing frequency of high temperatures and periods of prolonged drought, followed by heavy showers, is believed to have encouraged the spread of insect infestations in Italy during the review period. In addition to the usual infestations in…

Demand for home insecticides in the UK remained relatively stable in 2023, but very undynamic, as many of these products are considered to be of relatively little importance to consumers. Home insecticides are very season-dependent, as flying insects…

In 2023, laundry care saw healthy current value growth, primarily driven by the introduction of innovative products, particularly within the categories of laundry detergents and liquid fabric softeners. These products enabled local consumers to wash…

Following on from 2022’s rapid decline, laundry care in Belgium saw an even deeper descent in terms of volume sales in 2023, despite players’ increased investment in offering promotions to bump volume sales, including buy-one-get-one-free, and…

Retail current value sales of laundry care continued to increase in 2023, supported by inflationary pressure, as retail volume sales continued to drop. Overall, increases in the cost of raw materials, shipping costs, labour wages and energy have led…

Sales of laundry care declined in retail volume terms as economic pressures and price rises pushed consumers to make savings. However, the essential character of laundry detergents means it is hard for consumers to significantly reduce their use of…

Demand for laundry care products continued to fall in Italy in 2023, as consumers maintained the less rigorous washing and sanitation regimes practised pre-pandemic. Reduced anxiety over catching the virus, along with rising electricity costs and…

Laundry care experienced growth in both retail volume and current value terms in the UK in 2023. Greater demand was driven by greater mobility, as consumers have returned to their normal lives. Alongside consumers needing to wash their clothes more…

In 2023, polishes saw continued volume decline, having received a boost during the pandemic when local consumers spent more time at home. Due to busy schedules, local consumers have less time available for deep cleaning and polishing their households…

Sales of polishes had been on a downward trajectory for over a decade when the COVID-19 crisis hit Belgium with many consumers no longer investing in polishes. The category experienced an unexpected turnaround in fortunes in 2020 due to people…

Consistent with observations across home care, polishes in Denmark witnessed strong increases in retail current unit prices towards the end of the review period, including 2023. Still relatively high inflation amid higher input costs (energy,…

Sales of polishes continued to decline in retail volume terms in 2023, following a long-term downward trend. Essentially, polishes are seen as products which can be easily replaced in home care, which falls in line with the rising popularity of…

As consumers look for new and innovative ways to save money, they try to save as much as they can by cutting expenses on anything that is not considered a strict necessity. Polishes oftentimes fall into this basket, considering that priority is…

Demand for polishes in the UK continued to decline in 2023, in line with the category’s general pre-pandemic trend. The ongoing decline continues to be exacerbated by greater mobility outside of the home, as consumers spend more time in the office or…

Surface care saw a healthy increase in current value sales in 2023, driven by rising average unit prices, while overall volume sales saw a decline. Despite local consumers maintaining higher standards for hygiene and cleanliness post-pandemic, with…

Following a steep fall in 2022, volume sales in surface care remained under pressure in 2023. Inflation and the drop in disposable income for Belgian households meant that many consumers were careful about the amount of product they used when…

While showing signs of moderating, inflation remained an issue for the Danish economy at the end of the review period. From a review period perspective, inflation remained high in 2023, albeit below the 2022 peak rate. Inflation continued to have an…

2023 was a tough year for sales of surface care with volume sales declining while value growth was due to price increases rather than an increase in demand. With consumers’ disposable income being squeezed they were forced to rationalise their…

Surface care suffered a third consecutive year of declining volume sales in 2023, in contrast to the surge in demand seen in 2020. The advent of the COVID-19 virus in Italy had a very strong positive impact on retail sales in both volume and current…

The pandemic increased consumers’ hygiene awareness, leading to a surge in sales of surface care in 2020, when COVID-19 first emerged. Demand for surface care has continued to be strong since, with 2023 seeing higher sales than pre-pandemic levels,…

In 2023, toilet care saw some modest current value growth thanks to inflationary pressures increasing average unit prices. Despite the impact of inflation on unit prices, the focus on toilet care remains significant among Austrian consumers. The…

The outbreak of COVID-19 and the measures taken to contain it had a positive impact on sales of toilet care in 2020. With consumers working and studying from home they were using the toilet more frequently and thus this boosted demand for toilet…