Talking Retail Grocery and product news for independent retailers
This annual ritual is predicted to be more important this time around as shoppers look forward to a lockdown-free Christmas after last year’s restrictions. Clare Bolland, marketing manager for Marigold, says: “With families and friends able to return to socialise indoors in large groups this winter, completing a deep house clean is once again central to Christmas preparations.
“Consumers will be looking for ways to get their homes looking clean and sparkly, with minimal effort and fuss, and so products that do the job and help save time will be of key importance.”
Home working
Bolland expects the cleaning category to grow this year as shoppers spend more during Christmas shopping trips, driven by a “heightened need” for cleanliness since the Covid outbreak, coupled with the continuation of home working and the hope that Christmas 2021 will go ahead without lockdown restrictions.
She says: “With much of the Christmas 2020 period spent in lockdown, family and friends couldn’t get together in the usual way and Christmas preparations – including the annual Christmas deep-clean – were affected by this. That said, the total ‘above the floor’ category (including gloves, cloths and scourers) still reported an 8% increase in sales value growth in the convenience sector during this time.”
Cleaning accessories
Within the “above the floor” cleaning sector, the most popular segments are microfibre cloths and foam-backed scourers. Marigold Let It Shine Microfibre Cloths are “especially popular” as they remove 99.9% of bacteria with just water, “increasing the efficiency and speed of a household clean”.
Bolland says householdgloves make up three-quarters of cleaning sales in the convenience sector. “While disposable gloves also saw a significant increase year on year during the peak of the fight against the pandemic, purchases of this product have now slowed while household gloves continue to perform well and will be a main driver of growth as we enter the run-up to Christmas 2021.”
Shifting sales
Consumers are also drawn towards mops over the festive season, says Bolland, with spray, cloth and sponge mops “topping the sales lists”. Bolland recommends displaying Vileda Supermocio and Supermocio Refill mops. “With three key cleaning actions for deep-down cleaning and the ability to remove 99% of bacteria with water, our innovative mop range comprises a non-scratch scourer to remove stubborn dirt, a blue microfibre zone to remove greasy residue and 3D red power dots for picking up extra hair and dirt particles.
“For those stores with an established cleaning category, it’s a great addition to encourage consumers to go that extra mile when cleaning their home this Christmas.
“Ultimately, with more parties, family visits and social gatherings planned, we know consumers not only require our high-quality products, but those that can be used effectively with minimal effort. This is especially evident during the run-up to Christmas when saving time is of key importance to retailers, customers and consumers alike, so we would expect to see our microfibre cloths, Vileda 1-2-Spray mops, and Marigold glove range all perform well.”
Using space
Having big-name brands such as Marigold and Vileda will play a significant role in attracting customers, says Bolland. “Even more so due to the drop in the number of promotions, especially as shoppers have a finite spend for non-Christmas related products.
“This then ramps up in the new year, with consumers aiming to have a fresh start in January, especially when it comes to the cleanliness of their homes. Promotional offers are key across the market during this period.”
When it comes to merchandising cleaning products at Christmas, Bolland says retailers should utilise whatever space they have in-store. “One of the most valuable assets to have in independent and convenience retail stores is space, so we would urge all retailers to offer those in-demand products to entice consumers in-store.
“We would highly recommend Marigold Kitchen Gloves Medium, as these are currently the best-selling gloves in the UK. Marigold gloves are present in millions of households across the UK, have high brand recognition, and are synonymous with yellow rubber gloves.
“Brand-blocking Marigold will be an effective way of signposting customers to this category in-store, especially when sold in the shelf-ready packaging format. Similarly, Vileda is the UK’s number one brand for wet floor-cleaning solutions. Not only can they help signpost the cleaning category section in-store, but Vileda products are also designed to take up minimal space when sold vertically on-shelf.”
