Products that make a vehicle look good rather than run better are leading growth at retail as time-strapped consumers find car care a much easier task than repair, which continues shifting toward the do-it-for-me market.
Sales of appearance products, including car washes, waxes, cleaners and protectants, grew 5% last year by vendors' estimates. The greatest growth has been in easy-use items, resulting in a flood of innovative new products.
"Consumers are spending less time washing their cars, yet still want their cars to be clean. As a result, they are looking for more convenience-oriented products," said Vicki Friedman, a spokeswoman for Armor All.
Examples of products that fit this description include a wide range of disposable car-cleaning wipes from Armor All and a spray-on car polish. The polish is intended for fast touch-ups between waxing and takes minutes to apply.
Eagle One took that concept one step further with Wet Wax As-U-Dry spray which allows users to spray on wax while a car is still wet from a wash. After spraying on, the liquid wax is then wiped down with a clean towel.
Turtle Wax is also innovating in quick-use products. In January, the company unveiled Jet Wash and Jet Wax, products that connect to a water hose for ready use.
Meanwhile, an emphasis for Meguiar's has been new interior cleaners and tire shine products. Leather protectants are up 48% in industry sales, said George Brueggeman, director of marketing for consumer products at Meguiar's.
In car waxes and polishes, spray-on products are the hottest segments, with industry sales up 29% last year due to convenience selling points. In comparison, liquid wax sales dropped 6% and paste grew 5%, according to Brueggeman.
Despite a crowded field of competitors, the car-care category has attracted new companies seeking to supplement slower growth of maintenance items. The latest to join is Prestone, a division of Honeywell Consumer Products Group. In November, Prestone launched a four-item appearance line that features a car wash, car wax, tire shine and wheel cleaner.
Jim Brown, director of new products for Honeywell CPG, said each product has a protection angle, a differentiation point the company identified as desired by consumers. The tire shine, for example, has added active ingredients to maintain shine after three heavy rainstorms. To make the product jump off the shelf, Prestone went with translucent cobalt blue containers.
From a retail perspective, the category has received extra attention in comparison to some slow-growth aftermarket segments.
"It is a growth category and has been consistently for the past few years. The lifeblood really of that category is new items, with both innovation and marketing," said Mark Merritt, merchandise manager for CSK Auto.
Auto parts retailers are slightly stronger than the mass channel for sales in the category, said Barry Brewer, marketing manager for new products at Turtle Wax. A small care-care section may be found in convenience stores, drugstores and supermarkets, while clubs and home improvement chains have recently carried these products. The Home Depot, for example, has noted positive response to a test of car-care products as a seasonal program, vendors said.
A challenge in this category is to encourage impulse sales in light of a market shift away from DIY car care. A nationwide survey by the International Carwash Association, for example, showed that drivers washing their own cars declined from 45% in 1998 to 41% last year. Supporting this data is the fact that commercial car wash revenue rose 11% last year.
Nevertheless, a core group of dedicated auto enthusiasts combined with a shift toward easy-to-use products keeps the car-care category in the spotlight.
