Euromonitor Milliken Thought Leadership 2022

Post Crisis Psychology

There is nothing like a crisis to sharpen minds and impact consumer behavior during and after an event. The 2022 Euromonitor report found that for the most part consumer reaction to the pandemic was similar globally. The importance of cleaning regimes peaked, and the industry experienced a temporary reversal away from softer claims around gentleness and scent towards full-scale efficacy and active longevity. 

In a post-pandemic world, with a presumed declining threat level, the challenge for brands will be to balance a product’s efficacy and longevity with properties such as gentleness while offering good sustainability credentials. 

As a manufacturer of antimicrobial and other additives used in plastics, polymers, medical devices and a wide variety of textiles and other consumer goods, Milliken works to balance the need for performance and softer properties with a range of next generation solutions that meet EU and US regulations. 

In addition, as society lives from crisis to crisis it’s open to debate what the next problem will be as well as the capacity of consumers to engage with them. The report suggests that home care brands can, and should, be prepared to leap in, at short notice if necessary, to help in times of need, offering consumers relevant solutions and new ways of doing things, sometimes introducing new categories if necessary. 

Home-centric lifestyles

 During COVID-19, for many, our homes became our sanctuaries, and as we spent more time in our houses, our consumption and consumer priorities changed dramatically. The Euromonitor report found that hybrid working, distance learning and home seclusion, pushed automation across product groups, including dishwashing, with trends potentially serving as an indication for the future course of work and domestic life. 

In its provision of creating safe and clean environments, the home care industry is well positioned to take advantage of the changing nature of the home. This is also where the vast majority of value growth potential sits over the coming decade. A shift in household profiles could serve as an additional driver for home care consumption and demand for hygiene products. 

Digital Living 

In the past two years we have all embraced digital living as never before. Our work, learning, fitness and social lives were transformed into online video and interactive experiences, internet shopping exploded, and we pushed boundaries we didn’t know were there. In fact, The rapid evolution in E-Commerce saw five years of progress in the space of 12-months, driven by an enormous growth in investment and new market entrants. 

Home Care hasn’t escaped this disruptive change. Globally, sector sales via e-commerce grew by 75% between 2019 and 2021, demonstrating that this channel has grown out of its niche status. The Home Care Beyond the Pandemic report outlines how this transformation touches on new business models, smart appliances and digital solutions and with the genie now out of its bottle, it will not go back in. 

The uptake of smart appliances, for example, is expanding rapidly, meaning that detergents and other additives will have to track, adapt to and be broadly challenged by the consequences of this change. The advantages for an appliance player to offer their label detergents as part of a broader auto-dosing proposition suggests that the disruption of the traditional way to market will grow. This has huge implications for home care as laundry and dishwashing and the two categories most exposed to automation and represent more than 60% of global value sales.

Continuous growth in e-commerce over the forecast period and beyond will be driven not exclusively by the migration of grocery purchases from store-based to e-commerce but also by the advent of new business models, opening new possibilities. 

Value and Cost

The value will be a key consideration for home care and cleaning systems as the industry again looks to resist retreating into commodity status. Significant progress was made during the pandemic in elevating once overlooked product categories such as surface care into “must have”, and in many cases value-added necessities to protect homes.

The report says a significant positive for the industry will continue to be value associated with wellness and the upturn in consumer education around infectious diseases. The report suggests that while convenience, simplicity and experience are often important features, wellness will be the core “value” aspect of post-pandemic expenditure.

Euromonitor’s Lifestyles Survey also reveals some interesting insights into consumer
mindsets across different product areas, indicating that the willingness to pay more for
a product will be strongly linked to perceived value. Consumers expect a high-quality product at an affordable price, something that will put pressure on retail margins. The challenge for the industry will be to create a convincing narrative around hygiene and value-added product solutions with a continued emphasis on consumer education.

Sustainability

 Home care has long been at the forefront of sustainability, yet there remains an underlying suspicion among consumers that “green” inevitably compromises either affordability or performance, or both.

Milliken embraced ‘extra-mile sustainability’ many years ago and is proud to be at the forefront of industry partnerships and R&D efforts towards sustainability and circularity, for example, through our 2025 Planet Goals to shrink our footprint. Product goals to promote circular economies, and People Goals to care for our employees and communities. 

Air Quality

Air quality, now linked with disease transmission, has been a growing concern for consumers. Post-pandemic, the most likely focus for public health legislation will be towards air quality and building ventilation. At home and at work there have been calls for
improved ventilation in buildings which have typically focused on temperature-based
sustainability, at the expense of air flow. 

In addition, chemical-based home care products will undoubtedly come under more scrutiny over the next decade and the report says the rollout of smart home air sensing technology should be a red flashing light for the industry as it will give consumers the chance to see which products have the biggest impact on the air they breathe.

As a result, VOCs are likely to be in the spotlight, posing a significant challenge but also potentially value-added opportunities. 

Competition – who owns homecare?

The chemical industry has been seen to ‘own’ hygiene for at least a century but even 
pre-pandemic adjacent industries were looking to break into household hygiene.

The Home Care Beyond the Pandemic report suggests that the long-term path for the industry will be less about siloed independent options than systemic and multidiscipline solutions. 

At Milliken we are proudly building important collaborations with industry, science, governments and NGOs that drive thought leadership and smart solutions across all areas of home care. Regionally and globally for best practices in manufacturing, safety, compelling benefits messaging, education and product stewardship. 

A decade of consumer change

With flexible working and learning now the norm, and e-commerce continuing to dominate, consumers are expected to continue spending more time at home and embed pandemic-era changes into more permanent behaviors. 

Euromonitor finds that competition in the context of hygiene, and cleaning, will see the growing involvement of appliances, posing a threat to home care industry revenue in a post-pandemic world.

The report also shows that hygiene and sustainability will have to be managed as two divergent industry priorities with sustainability the key to long-term success in home care. In this context, improving plastic waste will take center stage in product development. 

As we move into the post-pandemic era, every new device or product will have to justify its place in the home in a way that has never been so heightened – is the home care industry ready for the challenge?