Introduction
Modern lifestyles have left consumers little time. As a result, household care and the way people utilize and live in their homes has evolved considerably. One of the most obvious differences has been the decline in personal time spent on domestic duties as consumers seek to maximize their leisure time with more enjoyment and socially orientated lifestyle activities.

Scope
In-depth European and US market and consumption data across the various home hygiene categories and tasks
Detailed insights covering people's time use, cleaning routines, attitudes towards household zones and home hygiene product needs
Extensive coverage of the latest on-trend household care product innovation from across the globe
Detailed action points offering practical strategies based on the trends and insights uncovered in the report
Highlights
Consumers are increasingly spending money on high value home hygiene products that make their lives easier. In 2006 the total value of the home hygiene market across the 7 Western European markets and the US, excluding textile washing products exceeded US$18 billion and most markets are forecast to grow strongly.

A number of factors have conspired to reduce the amount of time that consumers across Europe and the US spend cleaning their homes. As a result, household cleaning most commonly occurs once a week; it is the modal average in all countries except for Italy where one-quarter of consumers report cleaning 2-3 times a week.

The ethical consumerism boom has transcended into household products. Of the home hygiene products launched in the 6 month period June 2006 - November 2006 in the US and Europe, 8 of the top 15 mostly used product tags conveyed a message of being ethical or environmentally friendly.

Reasons to Purchase
Understand the social and consumer dynamics driving household care consumption, how markets are evolving and consumer needs are changing
Improve your marketing by following best-practice guidelines enabling more effective targeting with on-trend products and relevant communications
Access in-depth primary research and get inspired by viewing best practice examples of innovative and effectively marketed home hygiene products

TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 3
The hot topic 3
The future decoded 3
Action points 10
CHAPTER 2 THE FUTURE DECODED 18
Introduction 18
TREND: People have more living space than ever before 19
House sizes are increasing across much of Europe and the US 19
The average household size is shrinking 20
TREND: House proud consumers are spending more on their homes 21
Consumers are increasingly renovating their homes 22
Home hygiene product spend is growing 27
INSIGHT: Consumer attitudes to household zones are evolving 29
The kitchen is becoming the ‘hub’ of the home 30
Wellness trends affect how household zones are used 32
Consumers wish to create a sensory environment in their homes through fragrance 34
INSIGHT: Consumers are spending less time on household chores 37
Work-life imbalance leaves consumers with less time to devote to housework 38
US and European consumers clean once a week on average 39
Ironing is typically done once a week 40
Growth of labor saving home hygiene product formats reflects consumer mentalities 40
Paid housekeepers are becoming more common 41
INSIGHT: Women still have the largest role to play in home hygiene consumption and usage 43
Men are doing more household chores than ever before 43
Women are still the foremost figures in managing home hygiene in terms of time spend 44
Tweens and Teens spend little time on housework 46
INSIGHT: Consumers have wide ranging concerns and dislikes about household chores 47
Consumers’ least favorite chores varies by continent 47
Americans and Northern Europeans find housework irritating and time-consuming, Southern Europeans find it boring 48
Dust mites are the most common air quality concern, but cooking smells are also deemed problematic 49
INSIGHT: Health and the environment plays a major role in household care 51
Consumers are choosing household materials and appliances because of hygiene concerns 52
Pets are a particular concern to consumers in keeping the home hygienic 56
Ethical consumerism is increasingly becoming important to consumers of home hygiene 58
INSIGHT: Product efficacy is still the key desire of consumers of home hygiene products 60
Consumers see home hygiene products as problem solving devices 60
Consumers can be wary of scientific claims which can effect trust 61
Conclusions 63
CHAPTER 3 ACTION POINTS 64
Introduction 64
ACTION: Make efficacy, convenience and ethics the center of all innovation 64
Promote efficacy with informative, credential driven advertising 65
Develop and communicate products with time-saving credentials 69
Invest in making products more ethical and environmentally friendly 74
ACTION: Target women as the primary users of home hygiene products 77
Recognise gender differences in home hygiene needs 78
Support the empowerment of women with societal marketing 79
Target female friendly media 80
ACTION: Adopt a strategy to engage consumers in home hygiene consumption 83
Promote sensory-enjoyment attributes in home hygiene products 83
Try and create enjoyment associations around your brand and cleaning in general 85
ACTION: Develop relevant co-branded relationships to leverage your position in the market 85
CHAPTER 4 APPENDIX 87
Supplementary data 87
Definitions 87
Research methodology 87
How to contact experts in your industry 88

LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Average house size (square meters) by country, 2001-2011 19
Table 2: Average number of occupants, by country, 2001-2011 20
Table 3: Total number of owner occupied houses as a percentage of total houses, 2001-2011 23
Table 4: Consumer survey: % of respondents who reported renovating the kitchen every 1-2 years or 3-5 years 24
Table 5: Consumer survey: % of respondents who reported renovating the bathroom every 1-2 years or 3-5 years 24
Table 6: Consumer survey: % of respondents who reported using their home for entertaining more in 2006 26
Table 7: Per capita and overall European and US home hygiene products market by country, 2001, 2006, 2011 27
Table 8: Household products per capita value consumption (US$) by category, by country, 2006 29
Table 9: Per capita value consumption (US$) of air fresheners, by segment, by country, 2001-2011 36
Table 10: Consumer survey: frequency by which European and US consumers clean their homes, by country, 2006 39
Table 11: Consumer survey: frequency of ironing by European and US consumers (&% respondents), 2006 40
Table 12: Consumer survey: weekly time spent on household chores by European and US men (% respondents), by country, 2006 43
Table 13: Time spent on housework (minutes) daily, US & Europe, 2005 44
Table 14: Consumer survey: weekly time spent on household chores by European and US women (% respondents), by country, 2006 45
Table 15: Consumer survey: time spent on household chores per week by European and US Tweens and Teens aged 10-18 (% respondents), by country, 2006 47
Table 16: Consumer survey: least preferred household chores in Europe and the US (% respondents), by country, 2006 48
Table 17: Consumer survey: reason for European and US consumers disliking household chores (%respondents), by country, 2006 49
Table 18: Consumer survey: main factors affecting air quality in European and US homes (% respondents), by country, 2006 50
Table 19: Total number of houses with ducted cooling systems, by country, 2000-2010 51
Table 20: Consumer survey: the top 3 flooring materials adopted by European and US consumers, by room, 2006 54
Table 21: Consumer survey: the top 3 reasons for choosing a particular flooring type among, by room, Europe & US 2006 55
Table 22: Number of pets per capita, by country, by pet, 2006 57
Table 23: Consumer survey: the extent that consumers have bought ethical or socially-responsible grocery items in the period July 2005-July 2006 59
Table 24: European and US consumer and industry opinion concerning the influence of various factors on (re)gaining consumer trust 68
Table 25: The top 15 package tags on all home hygiene products released in the 6 month period June 2006 to November 2006 75
Table 26: Percentage of women in the workforce in Europe and the US, by country, 2001-2011 87


LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Growth in home hygiene products will remain strongest in Spain, but is stabilizing in the US 4
Figure 2: The nature of how consumers care for their homes is changing 18
Figure 3: Structural factors such as rising home ownership, house prices and home improvement spend all serve to create a demand for more premium, feature-preserving household care products 21
Figure 4: House prices have risen steeply over the past 5 years 22
Figure 5: European and US consumers perceive their homes both as a place of safety and a retreat from the outside world 25
Figure 6: Growth in home hygiene will remain strongest in Spain, but is stabilizing in the US 28
Figure 7: UK consumers spend the most on home hygiene products while growth in per capita consumption of household products has been stronger in Europe than the US 28
Figure 8: Future kitchens will defy conventional concepts of design and what kind of lifestyle activities occur in the room 31
Figure 9: The bathroom is a zone consumers increasingly associate with wellness 33
Figure 10: Time-saving products are important to US and European consumers which explains why convenience attributes are fundamental to home hygiene product offerings 37
Figure 11: Per capita value consumption of automatic dishwasher tablets now exceeds that of hand washing products in many countries 41
Figure 12: Spanish consumers have the highest number of paid housekeepers 42
Figure 13: Women spend more time cleaning the homes than men 45
Figure 14: With a trend towards open-plan room design consumers will be even more concerned about cooking smells affecting air quality 50
Figure 15: Pet ownership – of which fish accounts for the highest proportion – is highest in the US and Italy 57
Figure 16: Spanish consumers reported the largest increase in the purchase of ethically focused groceries in 2006 60
Figure 17: Many European and US consumers do not trust product claims 61
Figure 18: There is a clear link between home hygiene consumer insight and how manufacturers should target consumers in the future 63
Figure 19: Making efficacy, convenience and ethics the centre of all innovations is the key to future success in household care 65
Figure 20: Efficacy-driven marketing is influenced by product formulation 66
Figure 21: There are many communication cues that can shape consumers’ perceptions of efficacy 67
Figure 22: There are many ways to offer convenience to consumers 70
Figure 23: More than 50% of European and US consumers are willing to pay extra for time-saving products and services 71
Figure 24: Although ease of cleaning is a desirable feature of tiled floors in Italy, Italian consumers demand very thorough products 73
Figure 25: Using images of nature on packaging is one of many possible actions for embracing environmentally friendly products 76
Figure 26: Themes of sociability/connectedness are important in targeting women 78
Figure 27: Women more frequently tell others about the products they consume 81
Figure 28: Two phases characterize successful viral and word of mouth campaigns 82
Figure 29: Sensory marketing tactics such as these can help engage consumers with home hygiene products 84