‘Shoppers cutting back on hygiene products’

Brits seem to be increasingly shunning soap and other personal hygiene products amid the cost-of-living crisis, a recent report suggests showing a drop in sales of these items.

According to a recent report by Reap based on figures from leading supermarket chains, there has been a 48 per cent fall in demand for soap in the first six months of 2023 compared with the same period last year. Sales of handwash were down by 23 per cent while bubble bath sales saw a fall of 35 per cent and shower gel by one per cent. Only hand sanitiser bucked the trend, with sales up by 29 per cent.

Reapp, which compiled the supermarket data, attributes the falling sales to rising prices, citing the example of a four-pack of Pears amber soap which now costs £3 at Tesco while a six-pack of Dove soap costs £3.50.

James Lamplugh, Reapp’s commercial director, said, “Our analysis of recent supermarket sales data indicates that the nation’s shoppers are still having to make tough decisions between household essentials.

“We are seeing significant sales drops in the personal healthcare category, despite these products experiencing price reductions – suggesting consumers are cutting back on products not deemed as essential as the cost-of-living crisis continues,” The Guardian quoted Lamplugh as saying.

This year Unilever, the company behind brands such as Marmite and Dove soap, warned that its prices would continue to rise in 2023 but denied it was making “windfall profits” during the cost-of-living crisis. According to analysis by Trolley.co.uk, the cost of toothpaste is up an average 29p, compared with July last year. Soap is up by 18p, from an average of £2.06 to £2.24, and hair shampoo by 25p to an average cost of £3.87 in the same time period.

Last year a report suggested 3.2 million UK adults were affected by “hygiene poverty”, with 12 per cent saying they have avoided facing colleagues as a result. Experts called the problem as “hidden crisis”.

Demand of soap and personal hygiene products soared during pandemic as Britons splashed out £392 million on keeping their hands clean, up from £197 million in 2019, according to a Mintel report. Hand sanitiser proved to be an absolute essential during the pandemic, with usage rising to 73 per cent last year, up from just 41 per cent in 2018.

In fact, with the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the market value of liquid soap more than doubled in the following year, amounting to around 437 million pounds. In 2022, liquid soap had a market value of approximately 247.3 million pounds.