German Attitudes towards Household Cleaning Equipment Consumer Report 2024
£ 2,195 (Excl.Tax)
Report Summary
While 60% of German consumers agree that single-use cleaning products are bad for the environment, 47% struggle to tell which products are actually sustainable. This confusion is likely caused by the lack of standardised sustainability claims, and brands should therefore clearly label their packaging to indicate if their product is wash-friendly to increase reusability, along with guidelines on how to wash.
Price increases in the category continue to weigh on consumers’ ability to purchase electronic floor equipment, but the lower end of the market (comprising manual cleaning equipment) is less exposed based on its needs-driven usage and low prices.
While high interest in automation presents a significant opportunity for brands to target consumers aged 16-24 and 25-34 (67% and 72% respectively), it threatens manual floor cleaning equipment.
Yet, adaptation of such technologies will be slow, considering that 50% of cleaning robot non-users don’t use them because the purchase price is too high. Manual cleaning brands are thus poised to highlight their ability to clean corners, stairs and other hard-to-reach areas. Using AI to speed up the innovation process of new products – such as more-efficient shapes for mop heads – will give such brands an edge.
This report looks at the following areas:
- The short-, medium- and long-term impact of the economic situation and inflation on the cleaning equipment market
- Germans’ usage of household cleaning equipment, including floor cleaning equipment
- Barriers to using cleaning robots in the home, such as price, performance and privacy concerns
- Household and floor cleaning equipment behaviours
- Attitudes towards household cleaning equipment, including cleaning robot use cases and perception of single-use cleaning equipment
- Launch activity and innovation opportunities for household cleaning equipment brands
Brands can embrace younger consumers’ higher interest in and use of cleaning robots, and manual cleaning brands have a significant opportunity to innovate with products for hard-to-each areas (eg pre-fillable mops, triangle shaped mops).
Yasemin Holtemayer, Household Care Research Analyst, Germany
Table of Contents
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
- The five-year outlook for household cleaning equipment
- Market context
- Inflationary pressures threaten big-ticket items
- Automation and AI are becoming more prominent in household care
- Opportunities
- Appeal to younger consumers’ interest in convenience…
- …and automation
- Make manual cleaning equipment more convenient to compete with impending automation
- Brands need to help consumers to adopt sustainable habits
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MARKET DRIVERS
- The German economy
- 2024 is expected to remain challenging
- Graph 1: key economic data, in real terms, 2019-25
- The inflation rate is bouncing back to more conventional levels
- Inflation is still the key factor affecting consumers’ finances…
- …confidence and expenditure
- Graph 2: financial confidence index, 2022-24
- Price rises slowed down in 2023
- Graph 3: consumer price index, 2021-24
- The impact of the economy on the cleaning equipment market
- Financial health influences technology use
- Demographic changes
- Households in Germany are shrinking
- Automation and AI
- Automation becomes more widespread
- AI accelerates product development
- Pet ownership
- Pet ownership influences cleaning equipment usage
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WHAT CONSUMERS WANT AND WHY
- Usage of cleaning equipment
- Usage of popular cleaning products remains stable
- Graph 4: usage of household cleaning equipment – NET, any usage, 2021-24
- Germans prefer traditional products over new innovations
- Underscore the convenience of niche cleaning products
- Enhance rubber gloves with skin-supporting ingredients
- Younger consumers experiment with different cleaning products
- Graph 5: repertoire of types of cleaning equipment used, by age, 2024
- Kitchens find the most use for cleaning equipment
- Graph 6: usage of household cleaning equipment, by room, 2024
- Ensure hygienic cleanliness in the kitchen through antibacterial claims
- Take dusters’ ability to reach difficult areas further
- Usage of floor cleaning equipment
- Usage of floor cleaning equipment remains stable
- Graph 7: usage of floor cleaning equipment in the last three months, 2021-24
- Offer antibacterial and antimicrobial mop heads for increased hygiene
- Younger consumers are most likely to use cleaning robots
- Graph 8: cleaning robot use, by age, 2024
- Barriers to usage of cleaning robots
- Price barriers keep cleaning robots out of reach for most consumers
- Graph 9: reasons not to use cleaning robots, by financial situation, 2024
- Price barriers can give manual cleaning brands an edge
- Surpass cleaning robots with the ability to reach corners
- Behaviours towards cleaning equipment
- Multipacks are popular among German consumers
- Graph 10: household cleaning equipment behaviours, 2024
- Sustainable products need to catch up with the multipack preference
- Unlock efficiency through pre-fill options for mops
- Address fathers with on-pack reassurance of hygiene
- Tap into younger consumers’ wish for automation
- Attitudes towards cleaning equipment
- AI offers solutions outside of cleaning robots
- Graph 11: attitudes towards household cleaning equipment, 2024
- Educate on the washing practices of cleaning equipment
- Use AI to innovate around manual cleaning products
- Usage of cleaning robots influences efficiency perceptions
- Offer subscription models to overcome price concerns for cleaning robots to up usage…
- …and highlight the time saving aspects for younger pet owners
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LAUNCH ACTIVITY AND INNOVATION
- NPD in cleaning equipment stagnates
- Graph 12: NPD in household care, by category, 2021-24
- Unlock innovation by bridging durability with sustainable convenience
- New product launches align with sustainable changes
- Graph 13: NPD in household cleaning equipment, by launch type, 2021-24
- New launches highlight natural materials
- Niche claims are growing
- Graph 14: NPD in household cleaning equipment, by top ten leading claims, 2021-24
- Ease of use claims shift to economy claims as inflation affects both consumers and brands
- Examples of NPD with ease of use claims
- Examples of NPD with economy claims
- Brands are focusing on natural materials
- Own label closes in on branded launches
- Examples of own-label NPD
- Edeka drove innovation in 2023
- Graph 15: NPD in household cleaning equipment, by leading companies, 2021-24
- The impending EU Green deal pushes brands to improve cleaning equipment
- Advertising and marketing activity
- No bending down necessary
- Cleaning robots offer more free time
- Easy-to-use mop
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APPENDIX
- Appendix – products covered, abbreviations, consumer research methodology and language usage
- Products covered in this Report
- Abbreviations
- Consumer research methodology
- A note on language
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