Consumers’ Stepped-Up Cleaning Habits Poised to Outlive Pandemic

Cleaning was a big part of pandemic survival strategy. Driven by fear of contracting COVID-19, consumers cleaned and disinfected like never before and sent sales of household cleaning products through the roof.

“Disinfectants and sanitizers remain top of mind for consumers and could become long-lasting habits,” says Kathleen Kemmet, an executive for Information Resources Inc. “Products with these claims are likely to outperform traditional all-purpose cleaners for some time.”

As an example, Lysol, famous for its disinfecting products, saw its spray product sales grow by almost $296 million during 2020, according to IRI data. “Major brand names, which are known for their performance and efficacy, are the products consumers turned to during the pandemic, and we expect to see continued high use going forward,” observes Kemmet.

Consumers who were stuck at home concentrated on cleaning as well as disinfecting, and Reckitt Benckiser reports that sales of its Air Wick and Finish products were also particularly strong.

This obsession with disinfecting led to shortages that lasted for months, and retailers were forced to cope with empty shelves. Key manufacturers in the space say that they’re working to correct supply and demand imbalances.

“We have largely restored inventories across the bulk of our portfolio,” says Linda Rendle, CEO of The Clorox Co. “We do have some additional work to do.” Rendle adds that the company took the opportunity to simplify its product assortment, which helped retailers optimize their mix and leverage their store shelf space and online mix during the pandemic. Typically, stores have continued to offer smaller brand assortments.