With high per capita consumption, the sanitary protection market in North America has little room for further growth. Low growth rates in the target user base and changes in consumer trends and preferences have led to recent market declines. However, opportunities still exist to expand consumption, particularly in pantyliners. Meanwhile, the rise of re-usable alternatives and the growth of smaller players through e-commerce provide a challenge for major industry players.
North America was one of the slowest growing regions in terms of sanitary protection value sales over 2012-2017. Slow growth in the female population aged 12-54 years is a major driver of recent declines. Consumer lifestyles in North America are also changing, such as the usage of contraceptives that minimise or eliminate a period, and the trend toward more sustainable products,which hinders consumption of disposable sanitary protection products.
Pantyliners is the least saturated category of sanitary protection in North America,and offers the most opportunity for growth, with an unmet potential of over 4million units (USD3 million). Opportunities exist due to the ability for pantyliners to be used as adult incontinence products. The products can also be marketed as a hygiene habit for women to introduce into their daily routines to increase per capita consumption, which is relatively low compared to towels and tampons.
The North American sanitary protection market is dominated by the top three US-based players: Procter & Gamble, Kimberly-Clark and Edgewell. Competition is fierce between the industry leaders, which have invested significantly in launching new products and in advertising campaigns. Private label has started to become more of a threat in recent years, with higher quality products.
Although volume growth in sanitary protection is expected to remain positive in the forecast period, value sales are expected to be static, as pricing promotions and the growth of private label drive down prices. Innovations that convince consumers to pay more for premium products are needed to offset the value declines.
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