Laundry Care: Future Trends & Perspectives

The laundry care market has evolved over time. These changes have led to intensified competition among rival producers and gradual expansion in consumer choice. The market currently faces strategic challenges from changes in consumer needs and preferences as well as any future rise in outsourcing and use of multi-purpose launderettes and from emerging washing technologies.



Report Highlights
UK consumers use washing machines most frequently each week although Italian consumers wash their clothes more frequently overall with a combination of machine and hand washing confirming the importance of good presentation in Italy. Consumers everywhere hate doing the ironing the most of all laundry tasks and all household chores. Universally, no less than 80% of respondents to Datamonitor's consumer survey reported this chore as the one they disliked the most. Food and cooking are the most common causes of clothes staining and odor tainting for most consumers. Cigarette smoke concerns consumers aged 25-34 the most, as this age group is most likely to encounter the problem when going out for the evening. Smoking bans may lessen the importance of this source of odors.


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Overview 1
Catalyst 1
Summary 1
Executive Summary 2
The laundry care market is stable with some recent innovations 2
The majority of laundry care occasions are driven by washing machine usage 2
The outsourcing of laundry tasks is relatively infrequent 3
Men are taking a more proactive role in household care tasks 4
Consumers apparently prefer traditional scents and detergent formats 4
Ironing is by far the least liked laundry care task and household task overall 5
Laundry care behaviors are influenced by a number of concerns and problems 5
It is important that innovations in fabric care products are keeping pace with consumers' hectic lives 6
THE FUTURE DECODED 10
Introduction 10
TREND: Consumer spend on laundry care is stable as incremental innovation shapes preferences 10
The laundry care market is experiencing stability coupled with low growth 10
The detergent market is the biggest of the three main segments in laundry care 11
Consumers overwhelmingly prefer powder and liquid detergents 12
Tablets and 'liquigel' are emerging products of growing interest to consumers 14
Many consumers do not bother with fabric conditioners and stain removers 15
INSIGHT: The majority of laundry care occasions are driven by washing machine usage 16
Italian consumers most frequently carry out laundry tasks each week 16
Compared to washing machine usage, consumers use tumble dryers less frequently 17
INSIGHT: The outsourcing of laundry tasks is relatively infrequent, despite time pressures 18
Ownership of laundry appliances is high among consumers in the US and most of Europe 18
In a post-consumerist society, laundry appliance ownership may in fact decline in future years 20
The majority of European and US consumers do not use launderettes 21
Consumers most commonly use launderettes because of advantages associated with wash load size 21
Men, Young Adults and Italian consumers are most likely to use a launderette 22
Across all countries, men tend to have higher rates of launderette usage than women 23
Outsourcing is most popular among high earners 24
In Europe, the prevalence of laundry task outsourcing is greater than in the US 24
The most popular task for outsourcing is clothes washing 25
In Europe, the consumers who most frequently outsource clothes washing are found in France and Italy 26
The drying of clothes is less important than washing for European and US consumers 27
In Germany, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands a greater proportion of consumers has their clothes ironed than clothes washed by a third party supplier 27
INSIGHT: Men are taking a more proactive role in household care tasks 28
Contemporary males are doing more household work than in the past 28
Women still account for the majority of time spent on household work 29
In some countries the division of domestic labor is significantly less equal 29
INSIGHT: Consumers seemingly prefer traditional scents and detergent formats 31
Scent is an important factor influencing consumer behavior 32
Combining sensory cues is a powerful tool 32
Scent in laundry detergents matters to consumers 33
Consumers still prefer traditional laundry scents 34
Most consumers prefer standard washing detergents 35
Ethnic trends show distinct preferences for format and brand 36
INSIGHT: Ironing is by far the most disliked laundry care task and household task overall 37
Ironing is so disliked because it is deemed boring and time-consuming 37
Consumers dislike washing clothes for the same reasons as ironing 38
INSIGHT: Laundry care behaviors are influenced by a number of concerns and problems 40
Cooking and food are a major cause of laundry staining 40
Odors are also of great concern to consumers when it comes to clothing care 41
Tobacco smoke is a major cause of clothing odors in many European countries 42
Pets are a reported cause of clothing odors in most countries 44
Ecological concerns are likely to have a greater impact on future laundry care habits 45
Consumers have moved into a more reflective and concerned phase of consumption 45
ACTION POINTS 49
ACTION: Drive out inertia from the washing detergent category with innovations 49
Embrace the opportunity of new innovations before they become threats 50
Make ecological benefits just as compelling as laundry product performance 51
Reduce mess to boost convenience for consumers 54
Think laterally to reduce mess 55
ACTION: Adopt a strategy to engage consumers in laundry care 56
Leverage scent to differentiate and capture consumers' attention 56
Bring products into consumers' consciousness with engaging marketing content 58
Recognize the emotional importance consumers attach to feeling good about wearing clean, well-fitting clothing 59
ACTION: Make ironing less of a chore to consumers 61
Take the worries out of ironing 61
Attempt to make the ironing experience more enjoyable so it is perceived to take less time 62
ACTION: Expand the laundry care market by catering for pets 63
Explore opportunities in pet-focused laundry products 64
APPENDIX 66
Definitions 67
Methodology 68
Further reading and references 68
Ask the analyst 69
Datamonitor consulting 69
Disclaimer 69

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Table 1: Overall textile washing market value (US$ m), US & Europe, 2001-2011 11
Table 2: Per capita textile washing market value (US$/person), US & Europe, 2001-2011 11
Table 3: Overall laundry detergent market value (US$ m), US & Europe, 2001-2011 12
Table 4: Per capita overall laundry detergent market value (US$/Person), US & Europe, 2001-2011 12
Table 5: Powder laundry detergent market value (US$ m), US & Europe, 2001-2011 13
Table 6: Liquid laundry detergent market value (US$ m), US & Europe, 2001-2011 13
Table 7: Tablet laundry detergent market value (US$ m), US & Europe, 2001-2011 14
Table 8: Liquigel/Other laundry detergent market value (US$ m), US & Europe, 2001-2011 15
Table 9: Fabric conditioner market value (US$ m), US & Europe, 2001-2011 15
Table 10: Stain remover market value (US$ m), US & Europe, 2001-2011 16
Table 11: Number of laundry care occasions per week per 18+ adult / household*, US & Europe, 2006 17
Table 12: Laundry appliance ownership (%) by age group, US & Europe, 2006 19
Table 13: Laundry appliance ownership (%) by household income (US$), US & Europe, 2006 20
Table 14: Laundromat/laundry service usage prevalence, US & Europe, 2006 21
Table 15: Reasons for using a Laundromat/laundry service, US & Europe, 2006 22
Table 16: Launderette usage by gender and age group, US & Europe, 2006 23
Table 17: Prevalence of outsourcing laundry tasks by household income, US, 2006 25
Table 18: Prevalence of outsourcing laundry tasks by household income, Europe, 2006 25
Table 19: Most commonly outsourced laundry tasks (washing, drying, ironing) by region, 2006 26
Table 20: Prevalence of outsourcing of clothes washing (% respondents), US & Europe, 2006 26
Table 21: Prevalence of outsourcing of clothes drying (% respondents), US & Europe, 2006 27
Table 22: Prevalence of outsourcing of clothes ironing (% respondents), US & Europe, 2006 28
Table 23: Laundry task occasions per week per 18+ adult / household by gender, US & Europe, 2006 30
Table 24: Gender variance in number of weekly occasions for laundry tasks by gender, US % Europe, 2006 30
Table 25: Importance of product fragrance in influencing choice of laundry products, US & Europe, 2007 33
Table 26: Preferred product fragrance for laundry products, US & Europe, 2007 35
Table 27: Stated preferred laundry detergent type, US & Europe, 2006 36
Table 28: Least preferred household chore, US & Europe, 2006 37
Table 29: Reasons for disliking ironing, US & Europe, 2006 38
Table 30: Reasons for disliking clothes washing, US & Europe, 2006 39
Table 31: Reasons for disliking clothes drying, US & Europe, 2006 40
Table 32: Leading reasons for clothes staining, US & Europe, 2006 41
Table 33: Leading reasons for clothing odors, US & Europe, 2006 42
Table 34: Number of smokers as share of overall population (%), US & Europe, 2001-2011 43
Table 35: Impact of cigarette smoke on clothing odors by age group, US & Europe, 2006 43
Table 36: Impact of pets on clothing odors by age group, US & Europe, 2006 44
Table 37: Number of cats and dogs held as pets (m) in selected countries, US & Europe, 2001-2011 45
Table 38: Frequency of washing machine usage, US & Europe, 2006 66
Table 39: Frequency of tumble dryer machine usage, US & Europe, 2006 66
Table 40: Frequency of ironing, US & Europe, 2006 67
Table 41: Frequency of dry cleaning, US & Europe, 2006 67


Figure 1: Laundry appliance ownership by country, US & Europe, 2006 19
Figure 2: The Laundromat Café in Denmark may signal the future of the laundry care market 22
Figure 3: Social factors may alter the marketing model of the laundry detergent market 24
Figure 4: Weekly laundry occasions by gender, US, 2006 31
Figure 5: Weekly laundry occasions by gender, Europe, 2006 31
Figure 6: European men and women react very differently to laundry product fragrances 34
Figure 7: Positive attitudes towards ethical consumption are beginning to translate into actual behavior 47
Figure 8: Making efficacy, convenience and ethics the core attributes of future laundry care innovations will be important to future success 50
Figure 9: Ag Shower and Eco-balls epitomize the novel thinking that has potential to shake-up laundry care 51
Figure 10: Eco-friendly detergents will soon become mainstream 52
Figure 11: The container principle can determine the optimum compromise between convenience and efficiency 53
Figure 12: Reducing mess is important to consumers and can be addressed via packaging amendments 55
Figure 13: Lateral thinking can also help to reduce mess 56
Figure 14: Scent is one source of differentiation that remains under-exploited 57
Figure 15: Engaging consumers through creative and engaging content will 59
Figure 16: Europeans and Americans place considerable importance on their personal appearance and are spending more time on looking good as a result 60
Figure 17: There is an opportunity to market high-end fabric care products to consumers who place importance on appearance through the clothing they wear 60
Figure 18: Practical options to reduce garment deterioration caused by ironing already exist 61
Figure 19: Ironing should be made more enjoyable as well as easier 63
Figure 20: The laundry market sits at a strategic crossroads 64
Figure 21: Pet ownership presents a growing opportunity for laundry products 65

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