Cleaning solutions and cleaning supplies categories have seen a shift in promotional support from the print circular to digital, according to promotion analytics firm Market Track. Over the past 12 months ending in April 2016, promotions for cleaning categories in drug, grocery, and mass channel print circulars declined 13% from the previous period. However, promotional support did not disappear. Retailers shifted their support of cleaning to digital—specifically email. Cleaning categories saw a 16% increase in promotions offered in retailer opt-in emails during the same period (See Table 1, Below)

Kmart drove the increase in cleaning promotions in email. Over the past 12 months, Kmart promoted 301 cleaning products in their opt-in emails after not promoting the categories during the prior 12 months. Other retailer to increase their support of cleaning and cleaning supplies in email include Bi Lo (+400% year over year), Winn-Dixie (+142%), and Target (+132%).
Dish Detergent – Light Duty was the top promoted cleaning category in email during the 12 months ending in April of this year (Table 2 below). The category saw over 150 product promotions in email, equating to one promotion every 2-3 days. That said, it was not among the top five growing categories—it actually saw a 34% decrease in email promotions year over year.

The categories that lead the charge in terms of growth in email promotional support were Dish Detergent-Auto, Cleaning Systems, Counter/Window Cleaners, Floor/Wall Cleaners, and Toilet Bowl Cleaners. All five categories saw at least 300% more promotions in retailer emails over the past 12 months than they saw in the prior period (Table 3)

When a category sees a jump in promotional support, manufacturers within the category should generally expect to see a corresponding jump. In this case, however, only a handful of manufacturers saw increases in their email promotional support, and none more than Private Label. Store branded cleaners and cleaning supplies saw a 2,900% increase in email over the past 12 months. Even with the increase, Private Label products still ranked behind Procter & Gamble, Reckitt Benckiser, Colgate Palmolive, Clorox, and SC Johnson in total email promotions, though Private Label did improve their rank from 11th most promoted cleaning manufacturer to sixth year over year.

Other risers in the category included Procter & Gamble (+44%), Colgate Palmolive (+42%), and Clorox (+11%). Suppliers like Reckitt Benckiser (-40%) and SC Johnson (-27%) did not see the same lift as their competitors within the category. Both saw a decline in total promotions in email, and will need to open a dialogue with their retailer partners to understand why the added support for their categories did not result in a boost in support for their brands.