“This survey certainly indicates that Canadians are taking handwashing far more seriously since the COVID-19 pandemic,” says Maya Atallah, Senior Brand Manager of Body Care at Henkel Canada Corporation, in this month’s media release about the new survey data.
“With consumers washing their hands more frequently,” she adds, “there is greater demand for hand soaps.”
Gathering data on handwashing habits in the midst of a pandemic
To conduct this consumer behavior survey, Henkel North America teamed up with bms – marketing research + strategy, a Germany-based firm known for its work in the global surveys and studies business.
The data on handwashing practices across Canada was gathered in both French and English from 1,000 respondents, “representative for the Canadian population,” with no parameters set on gender, nationality, or address, according to Henkel’s media release.
2020 stats on the hygiene and handwashing habits of Canadian consumers
Women are washing their hands significantly more often than men, according to the Henkel survey data. 42.8% of women “said they washed their hands more than 10 times a day since the pandemic,” while only 27.4% of men are doing the same.
And the frequency of handwashing is what has changed the most about consumer handwashing habits during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Prior to the pandemic, the most common handwashing routine was 3 to 4 times a day. Since the pandemic, the most common response jumped to 11 to 14 handwashes a day,” reports Henkel.
The length of time spent washing hands has also gone up during the pandemic. 90% of consumers are washing their hands for the recommended 20 seconds—only 48.6% of consumers were doing so before the Coronavirus pandemic hit.
There are interesting numbers about Canada-based personal care consumers washing their hands before meals during the pandemic too: 64.8% are always doing so now, 32.9% sometimes wash before meals, and 2.3% of respondents never do.
Selling and donating soap to help limit the spread of COVID-19
Henkel owns some 95 beauty and personal care brands, including the Dial soap brand. And the data from this recent survey will likely inform that brand’s marketing strategy going forward.
But the brand is also giving soap to populations in need to help keep more hands clean and more people healthy during the pandemic. “To help address this need, Dial Canada is partnering with Food Banks Canada through the donation of soap products, as well as monetary support to help increase awareness and drive donations,” Atallah tells the press.