Household Cleaning: Time for some elbow grease

Remember what summer felt like? Convenience store shoppers do - and they’re already coming out of their long winter hibernation and willing the mercury to start rising again.

But before they fling open their windows, it’s time for a rummage under the kitchen sink to sort out what products to re-stock before the annual spring clean begins.

This yearly rush gives retailers with the aisle space to spare a clear chance to clean up in the household category. In fact, for c-stores who choose to invest in them, cleaning products are fast becoming a key reason for customers to visit.

“The category is vitally important to the independent as a footfall driver and helps with the mix of profit as many other categories will not generate to the same level,” says David Warren, household trading controller at Today’s Group.

“Within the Today’s Group, household cleaning is responsible for about 36% of the total non-food turnover.”

These shoppers tend to spend more at the till, too. According to research from P&G, convenience store shoppers looking for cleaning products spend £4.15 per trip and visit their local store 2.6 times a week.

And because it’s such a massive sector, accounting for £69.8m in convenience if you add together toilet, kitchen, bathroom, floor and specialist products (Nielsen), there’s plenty of easy entry points for retailers to get involved.

In truth, there might well be too many. Cleaning products are the ultimate example of the ‘long-tail’ category with an ever-evolving range of variants to cover every fragrance, pack size and occasion.

For retailers puzzling out what to stock this can be confusing. For others it’s a chance to get stuck in with gusto.

“What do we stock? I think we stock pretty much all of it!” says Gary Bilbrough from Nisa Local Toddington in Bedfordshire. “We’ve allocated the space for a three-metre section dedicated to household and we sell everything from washing powder to washing-up liquid, floor cleaner and upholstery wipes - which have become popular over the past couple of years.

“Household always does well for us, but it’s especially popular at the moment because people are thinking about spring cleaning and they’ll be in to get more products.”

Gary explains that the reason he invests in such a large range is simple: customers come in and demand it.

“Where we are is what I’d call quite a self-sufficient village with a relatively old community,” he says.

“People are doing more of their shopping locally and, with the range we do, they can get everything they need right here. That’s especially true with some of the bulkier cleaning items as people don’t want to have to lug them all the way home from the supermarket.”

Gary keeps up with what’s happening in the market so he can give customers a broad choice in household cleaning and also make sure the local supermarkets aren’t stealing a march on his selection.

He says that Lenor Unstoppables, - a fresh selection of scent boosters you pop in with your wash to go with Lenor fabric conditioner - are currently popular in-store.

“A big reason why people like them is because they’re new - but they also feature some nice fragrances,” he says.

“I’ve actually used them at home and I reckon they’re quite good!”

The right price

Meanwhile, as household spending slowly starts to recover after the recession, own-label products and PMPs alike continue to make their presence felt.

When asked about the place of retail promotions in the household category, Warren simply says: “They’re critical.”

“We recommend that retailers take advantage of every promotional opportunity and pass the savings on to their customers,” he continues.

“Promotions are designed to increase sales and get pull-through, and if retailers don’t utilise it, there’s a danger that shoppers will get a good deal from someone else. Not only will the retailer lose out, but their wholesale supplier will be stuck with excess stock.”

Hilary Nithsdale, own-label trading controller at Today’s, believes that the strength of own-brand, and the rise of promotions in the market, is down to consumers’ shift away from premium, and towards simpler products that can have multiple uses throughout the home.

“A few years ago the household category was more premium; single-use wipes and added-value antibacterial cleaning sprays with exotic fragrances were popular with shoppers,” he says.

“But as budgets have got tighter, people have started to cut back on what they spend on cleaning materials, which is why it’s critical to have an attractive own-label offer.

“Consumers have also become savvier about which products transfer well into own-label, and the household category is holding up well.”

At Today’s, Nithsdale says that offering own-label products as well as brands is not just vital as a value proposition, but also helps streamline what can be a very crowded aisle.

“Previously, retailers and wholesalers have stocked a profusion of tertiary brands which can clutter up aisles and confuse the shopper,” he says.

“We are helping retailers clean up the category by offering a strong branded core range, together with a strong own-label alternative. Merchandising them together helps to highlight the differential in price, giving the shopper a clear choice.”

For Today’s retailers this means stocking the group’s Essentials cleaning range, which retails at £1 or less: the top three sellers are kitchen roll, bleach and washing-up liquid.

Of course, every store has a different demographic, and at his Toddington store, Gary says that brands always perform better than private label products.

“Around here our customers want known brands,” he says. “We don’t do any own-brand cleaning products as such. However, there’s always a promotion on in the category and that always helps a product do well.

“When it’s your ‘Bolds’ or your ‘Persils’ I do try to stick to pricemarked packs as people recognise the brands and know they’re getting value for money and a decent product.”

This is something Bestway Wholesale category controller Haleem Sadiq agrees with. “Consumers demand big brands in the household cleaning category as they have confidence in their ability to clean,” he says. “Shoppers are also loyal to cleaning products so retailers have to stock the major brands in each category.”

Space race

There’s one spectre hanging over the success of household cleaning, though: space.

Traditionally, cleaning products take up a lot of space in-store which could be turned over to other, faster-selling lines. It’s a problem which Amarjit Bhdaal from Spar Auckley in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, feels keenly.

“At the moment we have seven metres of our household range, which accounts for about 1% of our sales in the store,” he says. “I like to call it a ‘necessary evil’. It’s a really tough one to call: customers come into the store for distress purchases and to meet their needs properly you really have to have the cleaning brand they use - despite the fact that stocking all those brands takes up so much space.

“If you only have Persil, and they always use Daz, they’re going to get their second choice for a distress purchase. But are they going to come back to you for something else next time? Probably not. They’ll just go somewhere else. And if that’s true then I don’t think they’re really getting the service they deserve from you.”

Amarjit adds that smaller pack sizes from suppliers might help - but maintains that then you’d be moving into ‘Travel pack territory’ which commands high prices for relatively small packs.

“To call yourself a convenience store you’ve got to stock what customers want, but at the right price,” he says.

“Cleaning products are something you have to stock, but it’s always good to keep an eye on it! I’m already looking at our section to see what products I need to swap out to make room for better sellers.”

Sadiq suggests smart ranging to make the most of the space available while tying into customer trends. “Within household cleaning, what we have seen is that there is a movement to all- purpose products rather than ‘dedicated room’ products,” he says. “Products designed exclusively for kitchens and bathrooms are now being outsold by all-purpose products. This is probably due to the reduction in consumer spending and shoppers viewing it as unnecessary to have many different cleaning products under the sink.”

Despite space issues, Amarjit confirms that household products, from the humble toilet roll to the poshest fabric softener, deserve their place in-store. And as the UK population grows, Mintel says that we’re set to see demand for these products grow.

According to their figures, the increase in the number of households (all using surfaces which need to be cleaned) could put an estimated £18m on the value of the hard surface cleaning market by 2018. Which means that c-stores could have an ever-growing role in helping customers keep their homes spick and span for the future.