Laundry and Dry Cleaning Services Market

Laundry and Dry Cleaning Services Market Outlook (2022-2032)

The global laundry and dry cleaning services market stands at US$ 50.1 billion in 2022 and is expected to reach a market valuation of US$ 76.3 billion by the end of 2032, expanding at a CAGR of 4.3% throughout the forecast period of 2022 to 2032.

Amid a stable economic environment with improved employment conditions, almost every consumer sector is witnessing a huge increase in the demand for their products and services. Post-COVID, the consumer industry saw a V-shaped recovery as far as demand is concerned. Nowadays, people are spending a huge part of their income on food and apparel.

Those with increased spending power are buying costly apparel for themselves or for their loved ones and expensive clothes that require quality maintenance. Expensive or delicate clothes cannot be washed at home as they need dry cleaning or expert assistance. As a result, the dry cleaning and laundry market is witnessing huge demand for its services from different sections of society.

Currently, the laundry and dry cleaning market is mostly driven by household customers as people continue to buy new sets of clothes regularly. This segment accounts for close to three-fourths of the overall market share. However, demand for dry cleaning and laundry services from the commercial end is expected to increase rapidly over the coming years. Blue-collar industries are shifting towards becoming an organized sector more than ever before. These changes would shape the future of laundry and dry cleaning services as the years go by.

Nowadays, laundry and dry cleaning services are being offered digitally. Many new entrants are coming into the market with more technologically advanced services, such as on-demand dry cleaning services, ironing, and folding services, subscription options for regular users, etc. It is expected that as more and more market players come up with more user-friendly services, it will have a positive impact on demand growth and push the market to new heights over the decade.

Talking about regional markets, North America leads with a sizable chunk of the global market share of around 29%. However, as time goes by, demand for professional laundry and cleaning services is expected to increase at a faster pace across the Asian continent. Overall, worldwide revenue from cleaning and laundry services is forecasted to increase by around 1.5X by the end of 2032, according to the latest market study by Fact.MR, a market research and competitive intelligence provider.

Report Attributes	Details
Laundry and Dry Cleaning Services Market Size (2021A)	US$ 48 Billion
Estimated Market Value (2022E)	US$ 50.1 Billion
Forecasted Market Value (2032F)	US$ 76.3 Billion
Global Market Growth Rate (2022-2032)	4.3% CAGR
North America Market Share (2021)	~29%
East Asia Market Growth Rate (2022-2032)	~5.1%% CAGR
United States Market Growth Rate (2022-2032)	~4.5% CAGR
Key Companies Profiled	Alliance Laundry Systems LLC Cintas Corporation CWS Internationa Dry Harder DryClean USA, Elis SA https://tlhindia.in/ La Teinturerie Lapels Cleaners Martinizing Dry Cleaners PRESSTO PWS Laundry The Laundry House Top Dry Cleaners UniFirst Corporation Zoots

Future of Laundry and Dry Cleaning Services Market

“Demand from Commercial Clients to Increase Rapidly”

Sectors such as healthcare, education, and hospitality are some of the biggest customers for laundry and dry cleaning services. In the healthcare industry, the requirement for clean and hygienic bedsheets, curtains, quilts, and towels is very high.

Similarly, the hospitality industry is also required to maintain a neat and clean environment for its customers. From clean dresses for their staff and other housekeeping materials, they need the services of laundry and dry cleaning players for various other purposes. Generally, market players enter into long-term agreements with these companies for providing their laundry and cleaning services to them.

“Integration of Technology with Laundry Services”

In the last few years, the laundry and dry cleaning services market has evolved at a significantly decent pace. It has been observed that dry cleaning service providers have always been comfortable with adopting technology. Before the Internet boom, laundry and dry cleaners were carrying out their business over the phone. Customers used to call them, the service provider would pick up the clothes, and later they would drop the same back at the customer’s place after cleaning them.

Nowadays, many laundry service providers have evolved and are carrying out their business over the Internet. Large and established market players have their websites/apps running. A customer simply has to place an order for pickup and the kind of services they require, and that’s it. The rest of the things such as pickup, cleaning, and drop-off are all taken care of by the dry cleaning service provider.

With the ease at which these services are being offered now, it is believed that technology is playing a major role in driving the demand for laundry services across regions.

“Shortage of Skilled Staff and Rising Hiring Costs”

The laundry and cleaning industry is currently facing a two-way challenge. On the one hand, there is a shortage of skilled workforce, and on the other, there is a steep rise in the cost of hiring skillful staff.

People who are aware of the know-how of the market are coming up with their own ventures or demanding higher pay from existing market players. Many a time, dry cleaning service providers are left with no option but to hire relatively lower experienced staff. As a result, the quality of services being provided gets affected and ultimately has a negative impact on the overall business.

Image presents market analysis of laundry and dry cleaning services based on end user and region. Under end user, residential users account for 73% share of the global market

Country-wise Insights

What Lies Ahead for Laundry and Dry Cleaning Service Providers in the U.S.?

The U.S. dry cleaning and laundry services market is highly fragmented with the existence of several established and local players. The market is still mostly covered by small individual and family-owned service providers.

In 2021, the U.S. dry cleaning and laundry services market was valued at US$ 11.8 billion. The entry of companies such as Procter & Gamble (P&G) into the dry cleaning market certainly gives a sense of belief that there is a huge potential that lies ahead. Factors such as increasing working parents and disposable income, and lifestyle changes, among others, are expected to push the demand for dry cleaning and laundry services in the U.S.

Why is India Projected to Be a Huge Market for Dry Cleaning and Laundry Services?

In terms of population, India is the 2nd largest country in the world. This huge population brings with it a huge buying potential for any given industry. Over the last few years, India has enjoyed a stable economy with slowly increasing spending power.

In India, there are three essential things on which people spend most of their money - food, clothes, and shelter. More people are also spending huge amounts on apparel and other cloth materials such as curtains, bedsheets, etc. With increased disposable income, people have started taking extra care of their clothes and other belongings.

As the apparel they are buying is mostly branded, people are spending extra on getting it dry-cleaned by professionals. Urbanization of most of the young generation is also driving the Indian laundry and dry cleaning services market.

Category-wise Insights

Why are Conventional Laundries & Dry Cleaners Leading the Race?

In the current fast-paced lifestyle, very few people are willing to spend time doing their laundry by themselves or at the laundromat (coin-operated laundry).

In the conventional mode of laundry and dry cleaning services, people have a lot of options in terms of services as well as the flexibility of pick and drop facility. Also, people tend to build some sort of relationship with their dry cleaners, which makes them stick with the same provider for a longer period, ultimately leading to continued service demand.

Currently, the global laundry and dry cleaning services market is dominated by conventional service providers who hold a market share of 78%. The trend is expected to continue given the fact that most people still prefer to get their dry cleaning done at their favorite place.

Will We See the Rise of Online Laundry Service Providers?

The laundry service market also could not keep itself untouched by technology. Service providers have integrated technology into their service offerings.

People are placing pickup orders with task details at their convenient time from the comfort of their homes. Most importantly, now, customers can see the quoted price for a particular service and it helps them in deciding whether to place the order or not.

With businesses going online, market players can now serve a larger customer base as the timing for pick up and drop are already assigned. Such services are not possible for a business operating fully offline. Slowly but steadily, online market players are eating out a part of the market share of offline service providers.

Competitive Landscape

Key players in the laundry and dry cleaning services market are Alliance Laundry Systems LLC, Cintas Corporation, CWS International, Dry Harder, DryClean USA, Elis SA, La Teinturerie Lapels, Cleaners, Martinizing Dry Cleaners, PRESSTO, PWS Laundry, The Laundry House, Top Dry Cleaners, UniFirst Corporation, and Zoots.

The global laundry and dry cleaning market is highly unorganized. There are many small-scale and large organizations operating and trying to increase their market share by using organic and inorganic business activities. In the recent past, the industry has witnessed several mergers and acquisitions.

• Lapels Dry Cleaning, acquired several companies in the year 2021 and has merged them all into a new entity named Clean Brands. Through these acquisitions, Lapels has become the largest dry cleaning company in the world.
• In May 2021, Ringe, one of the leading dry cleaners in the U.S., acquired ButlerBox, a Los Angeles-based dry cleaning company.

Fact.MR has provided detailed information about the providers of laundry and dry cleaning services positioned across regions, revenue growth, and service offering expansion, in the recently published report.

Segmentation of Laundry and Dry Cleaning Services Industry Research

• By Type :

  • Self-Service 
  • Conventional 

• By End User :

  • Residential
  • Commercial

• By Distribution Channel :

  • Online
  • Offline

• By Region :

  • North America
  • Latin America
  • Europe
  • East Asia
  • South Asia & Oceania
  • Middle East & Africa