Home Care in Asia Pacific

Delivery

This report comes in PPT.

Key findings

Prices continue to fall in Chinese powder and liquid detergents

While, compared to previous years, price competition eased a little in Chinese laundry care in 2023, with manufacturers facing pressure from rising raw material, processing and labour costs, prices were still falling in powder and liquid detergents as well as detergent tablets as consumer purchasing power remained under pressure in the inflationary environment.

Shrinkflation the preferred alternative to price hikes in Indonesia

Rather than raising prices, home care manufacturers in Indonesia have instead been adopting a strategy of reducing product grammage. Local consumers from lower-to-middle-income households in this country are known for their minimal brand loyalty, so that a subtle reduction in grammage is seen as a better policy than making noticeable price hikes.

E-commerce accounts for more than half of sales in South Korea

E-commerce, which gained share everywhere over the review period, was accounting for 20% of the regional market in 2023. Chinese home care is playing a major role in this, with online sales now making up 35% of retail value. However, the greatest e-commerce share is in South Korea, at 56%, where three quarters of sales were made through the internet in air care and surface care in 2023.

Increasing importance of sustainability

Sustainability is a trend that can be seen across home care categories in Japan, with the use of recycled plastic or pouch-type refills becoming mainstream and sustainable sourcing of palm oil or cutting production and transportation carbon footprints by manufacturers also increasingly seen. Sustainability may not necessarily lead to a direct increase in sales, but it should work positively in terms of ensuring consumer loyalty to brands and products.