Dishwasher ownership grows and purchasing of dishwashing liquid declines in 2019
New research from Roy Morgan shows 11.92 million Australians (58%) now own a dishwasher, up over 2.2 million (+8ppts) from four years ago. While dishwasher ownership has grown in recent years purchasing of dishwashing liquids has barely changed over the last two years although there has been a clear decline as a share of the growing population.
Dishwashing liquid is still bought by 11.91 million Australians (57.9%) which although an increase from the 10.96 million (56.6%) who bought dishwashing liquid in 2015 is also a clear decline from two years ago when 11.97 million Australians (60.3%) bought dishwashing liquid.
Dishwasher ownership cf. purchasing of dishwashing liquid: 2015 - 2019
Source: Roy Morgan Single Source (Australia), April 2014 – March 2019 (n=75,051). Average of 15,000 per year. Base: Australians 14+.
Morning Fresh is top brand bought by over a third of dishwashing liquid buyers
Australia’s leading dishwashing liquid is still Morning Fresh which is bought by over a third (36.6%) of buyers of dishwashing liquid, but down by 1ppt from two years ago. Other leading dishwashing liquid brands to decline over the last two years include Palmolive, down 2.6ppts, Fairy down 1.5ppts and Supermarket brands down 0.3ppts.
However, there are detergent brands which have weathered the drop in demand and come out stronger on the other side. Earth Choice, an environmentally conscious product as the name suggests, is now bought by 24.2% of dishwashing liquid buyers in an average six months, up by 1.7ppts from two years ago and Green Choice is now bought by 2.5%, up by 0.4ppts.
What your dishwashing liquid says about you
Some dishwashing brands tend to attract a certain demographic of purchasers, usually influenced by their price, benefits or distribution. For instance a pen-portrait of a Morning Fresh buyer is of a parent in a Mid-Life Family or Older Household living in a Separate House who agrees that ‘I have favourite brands for most things I buy and I tend to stick to them’.
While the Woman who prefers buying Earth Choice is a Young Single in the second highest socio-economic C quintile who agrees ‘At heart she’s an environmentalist’ and disagrees that ‘Threats to the environment are exaggerated’ and she is proportionately more likely to live in a flat or similar dwelling.
A typical super supermarket brand purchaser is proportionately more likely to be a man in a Young Parent or Mid-Life Family household in the lower E or FG socio-economic quintiles, who agrees that ‘He doesn’t buy luxuries anymore’ and ‘Likes to try the free samples they offer in supermarkets’.
Finally, the Woman buying Palmolive is a Young Parent in the mid-ranking D socio-economic quintile, who agrees she ‘Trusts well-known brands better than the stores' own’ and ‘Was born to shop’.
Michele Levine, CEO of Roy Morgan, says:
“A person’s washing detergent preference can say a great deal about them. While a number of customers appear to be migrating to the convenience of a dishwashing machine, those still buying dishwashing liquid have made a statement with their wallets. Despite an overall fall in unique customers buying washing detergent, environmentally friendly Earth Choice has managed to grow their customer base over the last two years.
“As seen by our dishwashing brand profiles, Earth Choice customers tend to be environmentally conscious, and seem to value the offering Earth Choice provides, resulting in their unlikely market increase while traditionally big brands such as Morning Fresh and Palmolive have fallen.
“Supermarket brands, by contrast, provide customers with a strong value-for-money proposition which is appealing mostly to Young Parents and Mid-Life Families, who don’t feel the need for luxurious goods.
“This insight has mostly only touched on demographics, whereas psychographic information such as the statement agreements can provide an additional layer of depth to market analysis. Only Roy Morgan can provide the deep dive into the consumer’s mind which is so important for planning the direction of your business. With trusted products such as Helix Personas and numerous reports available on our Online Store, contact Roy Morgan to get your advantage.”
For comments or more information please contact:
Roy Morgan - Enquiries
Office: +61 (03) 9224 5309
askroymorgan@roymorgan.com
Margin of Error
The margin of error to be allowed for in any estimate depends mainly on the number of interviews on which it is based. Margin of error gives indications of the likely range within which estimates would be 95% likely to fall, expressed as the number of percentage points above or below the actual estimate. Allowance for design effects (such as stratification and weighting) should be made as appropriate.
| Sample Size | Percentage Estimate |
| 40% – 60% | 25% or 75% | 10% or 90% | 5% or 95% | |
| 1,000 | ±3.0 | ±2.7 | ±1.9 | ±1.3 |
| 5,000 | ±1.4 | ±1.2 | ±0.8 | ±0.6 |
| 7,500 | ±1.1 | ±1.0 | ±0.7 | ±0.5 |
| 10,000 | ±1.0 | ±0.9 | ±0.6 | ±0.4 |
| 20,000 | ±0.7 | ±0.6 | ±0.4 | ±0.3 |
| 50,000 | ±0.4 | ±0.4 | ±0.3 | ±0.2 |
