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UK Cleaning for the Family Consumer Report 2024

UK Cleaning for the Family Consumer Report 2024

Market Intelligence Reports Household UK

Higher living costs are encouraging money-conscious shopping habits for UK consumers, and increasing the preference for own-label and lower-priced brands. However, as consumer confidence recovers, this gives brands in the UK household cleaning market the space to address and meet consumer demand for value beyond low prices.

UK Household Cleaning Consumer Trends

In the household care space, just under a third of household care product buyers are purchasing more own-label products compared to a year ago. While this increases competition for heritage labels, home cleaning is an essential task undertaken by almost all adults on a weekly basis, thereby ensuring some market protection.

Overall cleaning time has remained relatively unvaried over the past year. However, more people are spending less than 2 hours on home cleaning activities rather than 2-4 hours. The less time consumers invest in home hygiene, the more they are likely to clean as and when needed rather than sticking to a routine. This highlights a need for fast-acting cleaning products.

Products and marketing activities inspired by differing cleaning schedules, designed to meet interest in sustainable homecare, and that give cleaning routines new aims beyond pure home hygiene can help brands stand out.

Cleaning for the Family – Consumer Statistics

UK consumer cleaning habits: Just under two-fifths spent less than two hours cleaning the home in 2024.
UK consumer attitudes on sustainable cleaning products: Over two-thirds of UK adults who clean the home would be interested in cleaning products designed to reduce water usage.
UK consumer attitudes to cleaning: Over two-thirds of Brits see cleaning the home as an act of self-care.

UK Cleaning for the Family Consumer Report – What’s Inside?

Key Topics Analysed in the Report

Cleaning duration and preferred cleaning time during the day and week, with shorter routines becoming more commonplace
Consumer interest in homecare product innovation, including refill products, water-responsible formulas and child-inspired cleaning concepts
Consumer cleaning behaviours and the associations between homecare, self-care and fitness as well as the influence of children on cleaning behaviours
Consumer attitudes towards home cleaning, including perceptions around home hygiene and the impact of excessive cleaning on personal and planetary health

Report Scope

This report assesses attitudes and behaviours towards cleaning the home for families. This report refers to resident parents who live with their biological, adopted or stepchildren under the age of 18.

Meet the Expert Behind the Analysis

Strengthen brand loyalty and drive spending by tailoring NPD and marketing to match personal cleaning routines and helping consumers enhance homecare productivity.

Emilia Tognacchini
Principal Analyst, Household Care and Brands

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Executive Summary
- Opportunities for household care
- Integrate cleaning schedules, lifestyle and lifestage in future initiatives
- Align products to differing cleaning schedules
- Support me-focused homecare habits
- Understand parents’ specific homecare needs
- Market dynamics and outlook
- Market outlook for cleaning for the family
- What consumers want and why
- What you need to know
- Consumer trends: key takeaways
Market Dynamics
- Macro-economic factors
- Consumer sentiment: wellbeing is up but the recovery has slowed
- Graph 1: the financial wellbeing index, 2016-24
- Falling inflation has reduced pressure on household finances
- Graph 2: CPI inflation rate, 2021-24
- Demographic and environmental factors
- Births decline but parents still need help
- Graph 3: number of live births and total fertility rate (TFR), 2010-22
- Homecare brands can assist stay-at-home parents
- Buyers of eco-friendly cleaning products commit to the category
- Eco-friendly homecare is particularly important to parents
- Graph 4: change in purchases of eco-friendly household care products, by presence of children, 2023
- Parents expect homecare products to be convenient to use
- Graph 5: agreement that convenience is more important than sustainability in household care, by presence of children, 2023
What Consumers Want and Why
- Average time spent cleaning
- People are spending less time cleaning the home
- Graph 6: average time spent cleaning the home per week, 2021-24
- Homecare cleaning approaches shape cleaning time
- Graph 7: consumers who clean on demand rather than sticking to a routine, by time spent cleaning the home per week, 2024
- Children mean cleaning more…but with less
- Graph 8: average time spent cleaning per week, by presence of children in the household, 2024
- Preferred day of the week and time of day to clean the home
- Cleaning schedules vary by age
- Graph 9: preferred cleaning time during the day, by age group, 2024
- Graph 10: preferred cleaning time during the week, by age group, 2024
- Tailor products for diverse cleaning schedules and routines
- Align fragrance to different cleaning routines
- Cleaning products can provide educational opportunities
- Aid full-time workers with post-work relaxing cleaning rituals
- Create evening homecare rituals
- Interest in cleaning product innovation
- Significant interest in refillable and water-conscious cleaning solutions
- Green homecare ideas appeal to consumers
- Graph 11: interest in cleaning product innovation, 2024
- Upgrade refill options to capitalise on consumers’ green intentions
- Give an original touch to refill claims
- Make water-responsible homecare the new normal
- Baby-led weaning creates more reasons to clean
- Be baby-friendly and parent-focused
- Talk parents’ language
- Cleaning behaviours
- People clean the home for their inner self and wellbeing
- Graph 12: cleaning behaviours, 2024
- Promote consumers’ wellbeing with cleaning routines
- Transform cleaning into the ultimate me-time
- Pair cleaning with fitness to optimise homecare routines
- Give rhythm to cleaning routines
- Use scent to prolong cleaning efforts
- Tap into older consumers’ homecare wisdom
- Graph 13: consumers who wished they knew how to clean their home more efficiently, by generation, 2024
- Leverage social media’s reach for cleaning lessons
- Make cleaning fun and kid-compatible
- Attitudes towards home cleaning
- Home hygiene is a daily priority for many
- Graph 14: attitudes towards home cleaning, 2024
- Advocate for healthy (limited) cleaning time
- Parenthood changes homecare priorities
- Balance home hygiene, safety and sustainability to win parents’ trust
- Be honestly chemical
Appendix
- Report definition and abbreviations
- Market definition
- Abbreviations and terms
- Methodology
- Consumer research methodology

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