Spring is well and truly upon us! Not only does this mean that you might see frolicking newborn lambs in a passing field, but it also means it’s time for the dreaded or highly anticipated (depending on your preferences) spring clean. When undertaking this spring clean, you’ll need something very important, sheer determination…but also cleaning products!
A new clean-conscious generation
Despite what our parents and grandparents might think, SC Johnson (2021) found that a staggering 75% of millennials and 82% of Gen Z say they enjoy cleaning. Spark asked over 1000 UK respondents if they planned on undertaking a spring clean this year, while 64% of people said they were, you can expect only 53% of baby boomers to be whipping out their feather dusters and mops this spring. However, in the US we found that Gen Z will be cleaning up a storm this Spring, with 80% of this cohort ready to tackle those dust bunnies or that pile of clothes that has been sitting there for far too long.
The influencing power of TikTok
It’s clear that social media is playing a large role in both how people clean, how often they clean, and what products they purchase to clean with. According to research from the Grocer (2019), almost 30% of people say that social media makes them clean more often and 31% say it makes them buy more cleaning products. It’s no secret that TikTok, the app with hundreds of millions of monthly users, has taken the world by storm over the past 2 years, with 20% of Gen Z users spending more than 5 hours per day here according to World Finance (2022). The app exploded in popularity at the start of the pandemic. Worldwide people were dancing to Doja Cat’s smash hit “Say So”, revisiting their childhood through the nostalgia of The Backyardigans or most recently, making memes about Euphoria, yet another TV show about teenagers in their late 20s with the weight of the world on their shoulders. Tik Tok has a space for everyone, from sports fans to gamers, to musical theatre enthusiasts, it’s got it all! There is even a place for avid cleaners known as CleanTok, where likeminded individuals can come together to find new cleaning tips and tricks, or simply watch someone scrub their bathroom (trust me, it’s more satisfying than you think!).
The popularity of this corner of the internet is not surprising as through our own research we uncovered that 48% of people in the UK and 40% of people in the US with young families like to see brands offer tips and tricks in order to help their household cleaning be more efficient. Millions have flocked to CleanTok to learn the best way to tackle their own household problems and also as a source to find the best cleaning supplies to purchase. While Spark found that those 55 years of age and older are more likely to remain loyal to their cleaning supply brands, with only 17% in the UK and 22% in the US likely to make a change, 44% of UK and 48% of US 18-34s are likely to switch up their current brands of choice. The influencing power of TikTok on purchasing behaviour is undeniable, with an Adweek survey from 2021 on consumer behaviour finding that almost half (49%) of TikTok users have purchased a product after seeing it featured on the app.
“cleanfluencers”
While Gen Z may rely largely on TikTok for product recommendation, millennials homes are cleaner than ever with the help of Instagram, which plays host to a number of cleaning influencers (“cleanfluencers” if you will) such as GoCleanGo, Lynsey Queen of Clean and Slay at Home Mother. And it wouldn’t be right to talk about cleanfluencers without mentioning the legend herself, Mrs Hinch. The social media star has not only amassed a whopping 4.3 million followers since creating her account @mrshinchhome in March 2018 but also released 4 bestselling books. In a survey carried out for Appliances Direct it was found that those born in the 1980s and 1990s are the cleanest generation and it’s people like these who turn to Mrs Hinch for tips and tricks on all things clean. Her influence is so strong that it was found by Harris Interactive for The Grocer (2019) that a staggering 60% of people who have heard of her would be something purely on the basis of a recommendation from her. A mention from Mrs Hinch is like hitting a gold mine for cleaning companies such as Astonish Cleaning Products, who saw an increase of 15% in sales after an endorsement from her.
But no matter where or how people were influenced in their cleaning product purchasing behaviour, it’s emerged through our research that the vacuum cleaner will be the number one item that people will turn to in their spring clean. With 62% of people in the UK and 47% in the US stating it to be one of the most important products when tidying their home. While undertaking their spring clean you will also be most likely to find them in the kitchen, with over 40% in both the UK and US finding it to be the room which gets the messiest and is cleaned the most frequently. What is your cleaning product of choice? What room of yours is in desperate need of a deep spring clean? Let us know!
