China Laundry Care Products Market Report 2024
£ 3,695 (Excl.Tax)
Report Summary
This report looks at the following areas:
- China’s laundry and fabric care market size and forecast, and key factors influencing the evolution of the market
- The competitive landscape, marketing activities and new product trends
- Tracking consumer usage and changing trends in laundry care products
- Consumer purchase frequency, channels and brand preferences
- Consumer habits when purchasing and using laundry and fabric care products
- Product claims of interest to consumers for both machine wash and hand wash laundry and fabric care products
- Treatment of hard-to-wash stains
Traditional laundry brands need to focus more on cost-effectiveness, streamlining laundry routines and improving efficiency to increase product value. With consumer segmentation, there is still room for growth in the high-end laundry care market, which can be met through specialised products and fragrance innovations to cater to sophisticated laundry care needs.
Zoey Song, Senior Analyst, China Insights
Market Definitions
Laundry and fabric care products include laundry detergents, fabric conditioners and softeners and laundry aids.
- Laundry detergents include all formats of detergents, including liquids, powders, capsules and tablets, soap bars and others.
- Fabric conditioners and softeners include standard and concentrated conditioners and softeners, in-wash scent boosters and dryer sheets.
- Laundry aids include stain removers, ironing aids, brighteners and colour care products and other ancillary products for fabric care.
Excluded:
Sales to professional laundries and launderettes, as well as consumer-to-consumer markets such as WeChat sellers or Taobao.
Table of Contents
-
Executive summary
- Key issues covered in this Report
- Definitions
- What you need to know
- The market
- Growth of the laundry and fabric care market slows
- Market factors
- Companies and brands
- Market share: highly cost-effective domestic brands gain market share
- Marketing activities:
- New product trends: multiple claims rebound
- Graph 1: popular claims for new liquid automatic laundry detergents, 2020-24
- Product examples: noteworthy laundry care products
- The consumer
- Consumers most commonly purchase products every 2-3 months
- Online purchase channels are becoming more diverse
- Graph 2: purchase channels for laundry and fabric care products, 2024
- Most laundry products see a rebound in penetration
- Most laundry and fabric care products see a rebound in penetration
- Graph 3: usage of laundry and fabric care products, 2022-24
- Consumers have higher requirements for stain removal for machine wash products and skin-friendly and non-allergenic properties for hand wash products
- Graph 4: preferred product claims, machine wash vs hand wash
- Repurchasing the same products is common in laundry and fabric care
- Graph 5: consumers' laundry and fabric care habits, 2024
- Traditional brands have a purchase rate of up to 90%
- Graph 6: laundry and fabric care brand purchase rate, 2024
- Food and drink stains, yellowing clothes and odours are the main types of stains treated separately
- Graph 7: types of stains cleaned separately with stain removal products, 2024
- Issues and insights
- What we think
-
The market
- Market size and forecast
- Growth of the laundry and fabric care market slows
- Market factors
- Consumer use of laundry products is segmented
- Willingness to trade up is down
- Graph 8: changes in spending on household care products, 2023-24
- Low-priced products dominate the market, with nearly 70% of sales on Douyin priced below RMB50
- Graph 9: Douyin laundry and fabric care product sales, by price range, 2022-24
- Graph 10: Tmall laundry and fabric care product sales, by price range, 2022-24
- Market segmentation
- Demand for fabric softeners and conditioners declines
- Graph 11: laundry and fabric care product market growth, by segment, 2019-23
- Graph 12: laundry and fabric care product value sales, by segment, 2019-23
-
Companies and brands
- Market share
- Domestic, high value-for-money brands gain market share
- Liby achieves the largest market share growth
- Marketing activities
- Limited edition fragrances drive consumer trials
- Athlete endorsements highlight the professionalism of sports laundry care products
- Explore new marketing formats such vlogs and short dramas
- New product trends
- Mainstream products have a low share of the Chinese market, with activity higher in emerging categories
- Graph 13: new launches in laundry and fabric care products, by sub-category, Jan-Jul 2024
- Traditional categories lack innovation, low-priced niche products rise rapidly
- Graph 14: new launches in laundry and fabric care, by sub-category, 2020-24
- The automatic detergent shift from liquid to pods continues after a bumpy start
- Graph 15: share of new launches of automatic detergents, by format, 2020-24
- Rapid growth in laundry pods with wide-ranging claims
- Graph 16: popular claims for new automatic detergents laundry capsules, 2020-24
- Growth in botanical/herbal, antibacterial and odour-neutralising claims for liquid automatic detergents
- Graph 17: popular claims for new liquid automatic detergents, 2020-24
- Explore niche plant benefits
- Essential oil laundry detergent: all-in-one fragrance, antibacterial and cleaning
- Creating a quick wash feature label
- Antibacterial and deodorising properties for indoor drying
- Growth in laundry products for sports
- Graph 18: sports claims in automatic and hand detergents, 2020-24
- Graph 19: sports claims in automatic and hand laundry detergents, 2024 (Jan-July)
- Sports laundry products focus on sweat odour removal
- Botanical ingredients, mild formulations and ease of use are the focus of efforts in hand wash detergents
- Graph 20: popular claims for new hand wash detergents, 2020-24
- Skinification drives improvements to hand wash detergents
- New lingerie detergent claims to protect against HPV
- Claims for conditioners and softeners are down
- Graph 21: popular claims for new conditioners and softeners, 2020-24
- New products claiming suitability for sensitive skin
- Floral scents dominate
- Graph 22: composition of popular fragrances in new laundry and fabric care products, 2020-24
- Complex and sophisticated fragrance ranges for small-pack underwear detergents
-
The consumer
- Purchase frequency
- Consumers most commonly purchase products every 2-3 months
- Graph 23: purchase frequency of laundry and fabric care products, 2024
- 25-39s and high-income households tend not to stockpile
- Graph 24: purchase frequency of laundry and fabric care products, by household income, 2024
- Graph 25: purchase frequency of laundry and fabric care products, by age group, 2024
- Purchase channels
- Online purchase channels are becoming more diverse
- Graph 26: purchase channels for laundry and fabric care products, 2024
- Young consumers favour emerging online channels, social ecommerce platforms have cross-generational appeal
- Graph 27: main online purchase channels, by household income, 2024
- Graph 28: main online purchase channels, by age group, 2024
- High-frequency buyers prefer emerging online channels, especially short-form video platforms
- Graph 29: purchase channels for laundry and fabric care products, by purchase frequency, 2024
- Product usage
- Most laundry products see a rebound in penetration
- Graph 30: usage of laundry and fabric care products, 2022-24
- Multi-chamber pod users include more older consumers and lower-income families
- Graph 31: usage of multi-chamber laundry pods, by demographic, 2023 vs 2024
- Fabric softener and germicide are the mightiest duo
- High-frequency buyers prefer underwear care products, multi-chamber laundry pods and scent boosters
- Graph 32: usage of advanced fabric care products, by purchase frequency, 2024
- Preferred product claims
- Consumers prefer hand wash products with fabric and skin-friendly claims
- Graph 33: preferred product claims, machine wash vs hand wash, 2024
- Natural ingredients, strong stain removal and long-lasting fragrance are core consumer demands
- Mild, skin-friendly and targeted products most appeal to new buyers
- Graph 34: preferred machine wash product claims, by product usage, 2024
- Graph 35: preferred hand wash product claims, by product usage, 2024
- Consumers who prefer advanced laundry care products pay more attention to specialisation and long-lasting fragrance
- Graph 36: preferred hand wash product claims, by purchase frequency, 2024
- Graph 37: preferred machine wash product claims, by purchase frequency, 2024
- Purchase and usage habits
- Consumers frequently repurchase the same products and prefer social recommendations
- Graph 38: consumer laundry care habits, 2024
- High-frequency buyers are more willing to try new things and more receptive to live steams/recommendations
- Graph 39: consumer sharing behaviour, by purchase frequency, 2024
- Graph 40: consumer repurchase/try new, by purchase frequency, 2024
- Men aged 25-29 and women aged 40-49 are more willing to pay a premium for well-known brands
- Graph 41: willingness to pay a premium for famous brands, by gender and age, 2024
- Younger consumers prefer social recommendations
- Graph 42: sharing behaviour, by age group, 2024
- Nuclear families and multi-generation households are more likely to separate laundry
- Graph 43: consumer laundry habits, by living situation, 2024
- Brand purchasing behaviour
- Traditional brands dominate
- Traditional brands have a purchase rate of up to 90%
- Graph 44: laundry and fabric care brand purchase rates, 2024
- Younger consumers are satisfied with traditional domestic brands, while middle-aged consumers are more satisfied with traditional international brands
- Graph 45: satisfaction rate with domestic traditional laundry brands (a), by gender and age group, 2024
- Graph 46: satisfaction rate with international traditional laundry brands (b), by gender and age group, 2024
- Short-form video platforms can better drive sales for domestic emerging brands
- Graph 47: non-traditional brand purchase rates, by purchase channel, 2024
- Women aged 25-39 are more willing to try non-traditional brands
- Graph 48: have not bought but interested in trying, 2024
- Handling hard-to-wash stains
- Food and drink stains, yellowing clothes and odours are the main types of stains treated separately
- Graph 49: types of stains cleaned separately with stain removal products, 2024
- Frequent buyers proactively handle drink stains, odours, ink and makeup marks separately
- Graph 50: types of stains cleaned separately with stain removal products, by purchase frequency, 2024
-
Issues and insights
- Enhance cost-effectiveness in multiple dimensions
- Focus on active ingredient content in the evaluation of cost-effectiveness
- Simplify the laundry process to enhance cost-effectiveness
- Follow clothing trends to provide professional guidance on outdoor fabric care
- Outdoor fabric care gains attention
- Graph 51: outdoor activity participation rate, 2024
- Provide professional guidance on washing and caring for outdoor fabrics
- Examples of laundry products for specialised clothing
- Attract sophisticated consumers with fragrances and specialised, niche products
- Fragrance creates an elevated experience
- Graph 52: clothes and fabric fragrance preferences, by laundry and fabric care product purchase frequency, 2024
- Woody fragrances show certain development potential
- Build a specialised product range
-
Appendix – market size and forecast, methodology and abbreviations
- Market size and forecast
- Methodology
- Abbreviations
Why Mintel?
Gain access to high quality market research with every purchase of Mintel’s consumer reports. Here's what else you can expect when buying from us:
Mintel’s Clients Portal
After your purchase is completed, you’ll receive an invitation to join Mintel’s Clients Portal which provides instant access to supplementary insights from Mintel’s industry experts.
Multiple Report Formats
Mintel’s reports are available in PDF and PPT formats, and arrive in your inbox alongside an excel datasheet, so you can share Mintel’s market intelligence with ease.
Interactive Databook
Mintel’s bespoke consumer data is presented as an interactive website, so you can deep dive into your chosen topic, explore demographics and download specific statistics.
Custom Presentations
Using Mintel’s custom presentation tool, you can easily incorporate selected research data and analysis into a tailor-made presentation to win over clients and stakeholders.
Chinese Language Available
Mintel’s China consumer reports are also available in a Chinese language version, and can be accessed through our clients portal post-purchase.*
*Please note that translation times may vary, so Chinese language versions may not be accessible immediately. Please contact us for more information.
Browse our sample PDF report below:
Please Note: All of the figures, graphs, and tables in this sample report have been redacted.
Trusted by companies. Big and small.
