Client Story

Scent and ease of use decided 76% of laundry care purchases

Before taking a scent enhancer to market, a laundry care brand tested it with 500 shoppers — in the aisle, then at home with the product in use. Price led the decision at 77%, with scent and ease of use right behind at 76%.

A woman kneeling by an open front-loading washing machine in a bright laundry room, handing folded clothes to a small girl in denim overalls

At a glance

Client: A laundry care brand
About the laundry care brand: A laundry care brand taking a scent enhancer to market, with an approach centered on value, scent and proven technology.
Solution: Surveys On The Go® in-store and at-home study
Challenge: Run a pre-launch test: hear from consumers, see what they like, and find out what’s missing before going to market.
Method: A survey sent to shoppers’ phones while they stood over the laundry care shelf, then followed home for pictures and video of the product in use.
Result: Across 500 shoppers, price led the decision at 77%, with scent and ease of use right behind it at 76%.

The goal

It’s go time.

The product’s ready. You’re going to market, but before you do, you need a pre-launch test. You want to hear from consumers, see what they like, and find out what’s missing. This is your chance to ask questions, listen to their customer experience, and rise above the rest.

This is the story of a laundry care brand—who did exactly that. After carefully consulting consumers, and closely studying the competition, they took a better approach. One centered on value, scent and proven technology. After all, customers should never compromise on anything.

This is the story of their success.

Research was required

It starts at the store.

Amy, our buyer, is looking over laundry care products, about to pick one. Instead of tapping her on the shoulder—to see what’s driving her decision—we send a survey to her phone. Non-invasive. Twice as effective. Now the company can hear directly from her. They get in-store research.

But Amy’s experience doesn’t end in-store. She’s got kids, and laundry, so much laundry… That’s where the real product use happens. We’ll go ahead and follow her home to find out more.

Our approach

We used Surveys On The Go® (SOTG).

As the nation’s largest, highest-rated consumer panel, SOTG locates consumers in real-time. Here, Amy is sent a survey while she’s inside the store. Buzz. She picks up her phone and starts to type in her feedback on how she chose the scent enhancer, which is now in her bag.

Behind the scenes, the app confirms Amy’s visit to the store. And, as her phone follows her home, so does our ability to capture her opinions. As she gently pours in her scent enhancing product, we get to see her video experience of the process—and her results, as she shares her satisfaction.

And, because it’s an app, the client got:

In-store behavior

Feedback from laundry care shoppers, like Amy, while in-aisle.

At-home evaluation

Pictures and videos of their product experiences, while in-use.

Accurate data

Panelists were spoken to in real time, and validated via the SOTG app.

The results

Here’s what Amy, and 500 shoppers just like her, helped us to uncover about laundry care products.

Price is the most important driver for a purchase decision. It slightly outpaces scent, which was right behind it in decision-making. Which means that:

77%

say price is the most important purchase decision driver.

71%

are more likely to look at a variety of scents before they buy.

63%

of lapsed users say they’re very likely to purchase if cost drops.

Brand reputation and experience both drive product selection. So, if you’re new to the market, the best way to get a leg up is to use an existing brand and focus on scent, because:

76%

choose a product based on scent and ease of use.

45%

choose a product because they already trust in the brand.

40%

choose a product because they’ve had a good brand experience.

It’s also a great idea to reinforce your value proposition. So, in addition to looking at price and how good the smell is, think about your packaging strategy too. After all:

77%

say good value is communicated through packaging.

58%

say premium products must have a long-lasting scent.

51%

look at how many uses they can get to determine value.

About the laundry care brand

A laundry care brand preparing a scent enhancer for launch, which consulted consumers and studied the competition before settling on an approach centered on value, scent and proven technology. The research describes it only as a laundry care brand; it is not named in the source.

About MFour

MFour solves the issues of data fraud and commoditization in research using validated consumer data and a groundbreaking end-to-end insights platform. Utilizing the 4.5 star rated iOS & Android Surveys On The Go® app, MFour collects validated consumer behaviors + surveys to gain deep insights into consumer journeys.

Follow the purchase from the aisle to the laundry room.

Surveys On The Go® reaches shoppers in-aisle for the decision itself, then again at home, with photo and video of the product actually being used.

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