January 5, 2007
Hand Wipes: The New Differentiator
Germs, they’re everywhere. You’ll find them on doorknobs; shopping cart handles; your laptop’s keyboard; the hand you just shook… everywhere.
Consumer products manufacturers have built giant businesses helping Americans to keep the microscopic baddies at bay with hand sanitizers, and now retailers and restaurants are looking to help keep customers clean and coming back with some germ fighting strategies of their own.
Joe Drenik, spokesman for GOJO Industries, Inc., which makes Purell hand sanitizer, told The Associated Press, “It’s being used in every market that we serve. This is a way to kill germs on the go – there’s an increased awareness of germs and the implications of germs and getting sick.”
According to Mr. Drenik, there has been an evolution in how hand sanitizers have been used since first being introduced.
“When Purell came out in the 1980s, it was used behind the scenes. If a business then provided hand sanitizer, it would raise questions about cleanliness,” he said. “Today, it’s just the opposite – the perception is the facility pays attention to the details.”
Chick-fil-A is one of the companies that addresses consumers’ germ concerns by offering hand sanitizer packets in its restaurants.
“We provide the playground area for kids to come and play and we do sanitize those surfaces. But because of the traffic, kids can come in … and as soon as they come in, it’s dirty again,” said Hal King, food safety manager for Chick-fil-A. “When you come up to the drive-thru window, you can’t wash your hands before you eat.”
Kroger offers consumers hand wipes near its carts.
“It’s very popular with many customers,” said spokesperson Meghan Glynn. “You grab it, you wipe down the cart and you dispose of it. Customers tell us they appreciate it’s there. It doesn’t require a lot of effort.”
Smaller stores such as Really Cool Foods in New York also offer wipes to shoppers.
“We’re not really concerned. If our customers feel they need them, then we’re OK with it,” said spokesperson Hans Dempsey. “It’s a small price to pay for saving the world from the flu.”
Discussion Questions: How concerned are consumers with germs and dirt and what opportunity does this offer retailers looking to establish a competitive point of difference?
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Focus groups that we conducted for one of our juvenile products clients last year revealed that mothers are not just concerned about sanitation in public places, they are positively peevish. Lucky for the client that this validates the development of all kinds of seat covers, wipe holders, etc. (though getting the sanitation message “just right” from product to packaging is an unbelievably complex proposition).
Most surprising are the creative solutions that mothers develop on their own; everything from creating auxiliary car changing set-ups, in order to avoid public bathroom changing stations, to always opening bathroom doors with paper towel in hand.
The consumer has spoken! Not only did germ destroying product companies do their homework, but other companies from grocery to restaurants are using such cleansing products, as a consumer benefit and competitive market advantage.
Consumers were empowered to speak of their needs, by such companies.
Smart marketing is evident! And yes, a major support to these companies’ germ free activities should start in the washrooms!
Hmmmmmmmmm
I fall on the side of “perception is reality.” While there may be people on both ends of the spectrum, either obsessed with cleanliness, or on the other side who could care less, there is a significant number of people who view cleanliness as very important. For example, look at the findings of the U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends survey — 74% of those surveyed indicated a clean, neat store is very important in selecting a primary supermarket, right behind high quality fruit and vegetables (77%) and high quality meat (74%).
Some “Consumers” don’t want anything. Some groups of consumers want most anything offered. In this case, offering the wipes near carts doesn’t cost much according to the Kroger representative, so making that opportunity available to the consumers who are interested and concerned is a smart thing to do. For those consumers, cleanliness is part of their value equation and the stores that help make that possible are perceived more favorably.
Determining whether you have a group of consumers who are concerned enough about the issue to make it part of their value equation and whether the cost of addressing the issue is reasonable is a question that has to be answered.
Perception is reality, and savvy marketers of Hand Sanitizers understand this well. Just take in the commercials and their reinforcement of germs being everywhere and protecting yourself and your kids from coughs, colds, and the flu through hand washing and sanitation.
The message that is sent to the consumer is a key element of awareness and increased purchases and of course, that’s what marketing is all about.
Does hand washing and sanitation help…use…and has the message driven some people to germaphobia?…You bet it has….
Public awareness of the impact of germs, bacteria and other contact surface borne contaminants is increasing. The news has been rife with stories on e. coli and salmonella incidents involving restaurants. Bird flu and articles on the cleanliness of grocery carts has also been covered on the West Coast.
BSM (Blue Suit Moms) Media recently conducted a online survey on behalf of Boch Industries in which they surveyed 1000 mom’s across the United States on their views concerning Clean Shopping Experiences.
The mothers surveyed felt strongly that the cleanliness of a store affects the amount of time they spend shopping there. In fact, over 92 percent of moms said that when price and value were equal, the cleanliness of the store affected their shopping decision.
The results showed that when it comes to the in-store shopping experience and cleanliness, only the bathroom presents more of a health concern to her than the shopping cart. In fact, 95% of mothers surveyed pointed to the shopping cart as the store feature which presented the greatest risk of germs to her child.
It is apparent from the poll results that moms feel strongly about the cleanliness of a retailer’s shopping cart. There was less than one percentage point difference in the level of influence sanitized bathrooms played over sanitized shopping carts. Additionally, sixty-nine percent of moms said they would be influenced to shop at a retailer who sanitized their shopping carts.
Of the moms polled, Target was perceived to present the cleanest shopping environment, followed by a collection of retailers such as Kohl’s, Wal-Mart and Whole Foods.
There are several companies that have begun to offer commercial solutions to retailers for maintaining the cleanliness and sanitation of their shopping carts but they have not yet appeared on a large scale across the US. Boch Industries, who operates under the KleenTouch banner, is one of the companies which offers genuine commercial quality product solutions to retailers at this time. Purecart is another. [Full disclosure: Boch Industries is a client of mine.]
Perceptions of cleanliness are very important to shoppers. Renovated stores and restaurants are often perceived as “clean,” and that’s one of the reasons sales often improve after a renovation. So it pays to offer wipes and sanitizer, just like it pays to wrap drinking straws and disposable eating utensils. Their actual impact on reducing illness isn’t the issue. Perception is everything.
Some consumers are obsessed with germs — hence the market for hand sanitizers and products like Airborne. Other consumers argue that over use of antibacterials actually make you more — not less — prone to certain diseases. Most people fall somewhere in the middle. This is a rather inelegant proof point, but stand in a public restroom (my experience here being gender specific) and watch how many people DON’T wash their hands after using the facilities! There’s the middle of the market for you.
Very few are concerned enough to think about this before entering the store. They may use wipes if offered, but it makes little difference to the overall shopping experience.
It would be much better if retailers improved their restroom facilities….
I too believe that the average consumer is not obsessed with cleanliness and germs, but the number of people that are is on the rise. It is very smart marketing to appeal to the consumers that are concerned about this. You won’t turn off the people that aren’t worried about it, but will win big points with the ones that are.
We are somewhere in the middle but leaning toward the extreme. Washing your hands frequently makes sense in reducing your exposure to germs and retailers that make that easier are appreciated. I can’t say that it would effect my decision on where to shop unless everything else was a tie, though.
I never thought about the sanitation of shopping carts until my grandchild was born 10 months ago. As she started growing and sitting in the cart versus her carrier, and of course started putting her mouth on every exposed surface she could reach, I realized how germ filled they were. Before my local retailers and restaurants started offering the wipes, I was carrying a container of wipes with me on every shopping trip. I think the wipes are a nice extra and only wish I had capitalized on the trend!
Just as health and wellness have begun to top consumer concerns, so will cleanliness in the very near future. Offering a clean store leaves no room for compromise. The penalty exacted by the consumer — not to mention health organizations or the government — could destroy a business overnight. Supermarkets can easily use this attribute as a selling point while they compete with foodservice and channel blur(ers).
Yes, perception is reality, and yes, pretty soon everyone will be doing this, so the winning retailers in this particular tactic (like always) will be the ones that find ways to do it both different and better so that customers respond “Wow, there is a store that really understands me.”
I agree with Camille. If a retailer discovers that enough of their shoppers care about something, they will look at the cost and methods to meet the need and, if the numbers work, respond and show that they care back. Sometimes it’s the little things that mean the most when it comes to retention.
As I write this blurb, I am looking at a Purell Hand Sanitizer that is sitting on my desk. I’m guilty, I use it; but it wouldn’t be a reason for me to return to retailer because they are germ conscious. While the cleanliness of a retailer is important, this, at least to me, is not a differentiator. But then again, I’m no longer the target audience.
There are germaphobes everywhere – watch people go through doors and see how many won’t touch the door handle. While I personally think the fear of germs is overblown, as several commentators have mentioned it is perception that counts.
In addition to providing wipes, lotions, and potions, though, all types of retailers would be well advised to work much harder cleaning their bathrooms on a regular schedule and just for good measure clean their parking lots once in awhile, too.
I’m not sure if consumer research numbers will say this will lead to a good ROI or not, but sometimes you need to do the right thing just because it’s the right thing to do.
I noticed them the other day at my local Ralphs. The problem was the carts were so old and dirty that they drew attention to that. Cleanliness is a big factor at retail and a lot of it is perception. Before adding the hand sanitizers, make sure that the things customers interact with on a daily basis are as clean and modernized as possible. Old carts with bad wheels just don’t cut it anymore.
Sanitisers are more widely used in the UK as well, particularly to wipe down carts when you go into a grocery store or next to the pump at the gas station. Both appreciated and fairly well used, I think. The problem lies with disposal. There is such concern about security that most trash cans have been removed from public places. Gas stations usually have one handy but I don’t think many/most groceries do. Which can mean you have to take the used bit of tissue paper home in your pocket or just toss it to the ground. Yuk.
In hospitals, which have major concerns at the moment about so-called superbugs that are making some patients sicker than when they arrived, there are bottles with a special gel that you rub in at the entrance to each ward, at the end of each bed and even attached to nurses’ and doctors’ belts to make sure they are frequently used by one and all. I think they give peace of mind, at least, that efforts are being made. I haven’t yet seen any in restaurants but then I don’t often visit fast food joints (which are more often American owned than not) so maybe they are there as well. If not, they should be because I think anything that encourages people to use them is a good thing. Without getting too pernickety and paranoid, there are a lot of people who should be using sanitisers who don’t and having them widely available and highly visible can only help. I agree that the requisite advertising and marketing is making some people over-concerned but some people will go to extremes on any and all matters. I also agree that perception is all and that people who see such a service are likely to think more highly of a retailer even if it isn’t the one factor that makes them keep coming back. Most of all, I agree with Al that retailers should do it because it’s the right thing to do and, as Camille says, at least give customers the choice to use or not as they feel inclined.
As for Charles Walsh and his clients’ solution to keeping shopping carts clean, I’d be curious about how they do this – squirting them before and after each use? Anything less doesn’t feel as if it could be genuinely effective. Even stores and restaurants that clean their restrooms regularly can be defeated by customers who don’t do unto others as…And as to Ryan’s ref being gender specific – I have way too often been in filthy women’s restrooms and seen women leave without washing their hands and, way too often, been astonished and horrified at the amount of paper just thrown on the floor. Do they do this at home???!!!
Hand sanitizers are becoming increasingly important to consumers who not only expect and appreciate a clean store and restroom, but judge a store by its overall cleanliness. Consumers appreciate the added convenience of hand sanitizers in the store, convenience mart, gas station, health club, day care facility, restaurant or drive-thru.
Retailers can take a more active role in informing consumers about food safety issues and the importance of frequent hand washing, whether it is with a sanitizer or just plain old soap and water. This education should, of course, involve store associates as well.
A prediction for the future — retailers will see it as a necessity whether it is or not; everyone will have them, and any competitive advantage will be lost.
Very interesting string of comments. I agree with what appears to be the majority opinion, that “perception is reality”–especially in the retail context. I should point out that this is a topic into which I have conducted a great deal of research and for which my company has developed a next generation solution. “Wipe programs” have been adopted by over 12,000 grocery stores in less than 3 years, however the direct and indirect cost of these programs have created a dilemma for retailers. Wipes cost, on average, $0.03 each and our research shows that most customers use 2 or 3 during each visit. This high variable cost can quickly become burdensome to retailers. For this reason retailers have not highlighted their wipe program to their customers. Our research shows that less than 15% of all customers in stores where a wipe program has been in place for at least one year are unaware of the program. Publix, for example, implemented a wipe program on a store by store basis with a directive to store manager to only offer wipes AFTER a customer asked about them. A quick review of the direct costs associated with wipe programs tells the story. Assuming an average of 14,000 customers per week, if every customer were to use only one wipe during each visit, the annual direct cost of a wipe program would be $21,840!
Of course the problem with retailer’s application of a squeaky wheel approach is that they are spending money on a program that only reaches a small percentage of their customers. To add insult to injury these customers are the same customers who expect retailers offer wipes. For a retailer to spend money and not reach the majority of their customers and thereby forgo an opportunity to generate customer loyalty is money poorly spent.