Cents’ Into The Fold Data and What It Means For The Future of Laundry
There’s a reason why the laundry industry is projected to keep growing—the western region of the United States is anticipated to grow at a rate of 6.2% in the next 10 years. Laundry is a need that everyone must do, and an industry everyone is looking to get into.
With Cents’ 2024 Into The Fold project, we take a look inside the laundry habits of Americans and see why owning a laundromat is the way to go.
Laundry Industry Value
In the year 2024, 52,392 tons of laundry was processed daily with over 50,000 detergent bottles being used every single day. The U.S. laundry market is valued at almost $5 billion—larger than the amount it cost to make all eight Harry Potter movies at $1.2 billion, higher than the sale of the Denver Broncos to the Walton-Penner family (of Walmart fame) at $4.65 billion, and you could buy 10,000 homes at the cost of $500,000 each for $5 billion.
Wash & Fold Throughout the States
Laundry practices vary in each state—so do their prices. The Wash & Fold service is a valuable service that most laundromats have started to provide. In the U.S., Wisconsin averages the lowest Wash & Fold price at $1.15/lb while Hawaii averages the highest Wash & Fold prices at $2.92/lb.
Here are some other state averages:
Texas: $1.79lb average with the average order value at $35.18
California: $2.14lb average with the average order value at $56.29
Florida: $1.81/lb average with the average order value at $43.53
Washington: $2.20/lb average with the average order value at $49.95
Michigan: $1.82/lb average with the average value at $39.63
New York: $1.84/lb average with the average order value at $39.81
Georgia: $1.89/lb average with the average order value at $45.85
Nevada: $1.32/lb average with the average order value at $48.50
When it comes to customers tipping their laundromat for their Wash & Fold service, Idaho tips the highest averaging at 22.49% and South Dakota tips the lowest averaging at 7.50%.
The Differences Between Drop-off and Pickup & Delivery?
With Drop-off, also known as Wash & Fold, people go into their local laundromat and drop their laundry off to be washed, dried, and folded by workers before they pick it up. With Pickup & Delivery, workers will pick up, wash, dry, fold, and deliver the clean laundry back to the customers. Cents found that drop-off orders averaged $44.19 per order while Pickup & Delivery averaged at $79.81—80% higher than drop-off orders!
With these different options customers can do their laundry, what days tend to be the busiest? With their study, Cents found that Sunday was the busiest for self-service while Monday was the busiest day for pickup & delivery orders. Saturday was the busiest day for in-store drop-off orders.
Popular Laundromat Hours
They also found that only 18% of laundromats are open 24 hours a day meaning that 82% have set hours and don’t need to stay open all day and night to run successfully. The busiest hours tended to be 10am to 12pm and 5pm to 8pm.
US Fabric Softener Industry
Laundry mats aren’t the only thing expected to grow within the next several years. The U.S. fabric softener industry is projected to grow 4.45% this year alone! Consumer preferences are changing and there is an increased demand for plant-based alternatives.
If you would like to see their full study, check it out at www.intothefoldproject.com.
Why Franchise With Laundry Luv?
These numbers and projections may seem exciting and have you questioning when you are going to own your own laundromat, but you should also think about why franchising would be the way to go as opposed to buying your own. Owning a business is a lot of work and it takes more than being a bit business savvy. You also need to think about branding, marketing, customer loyalty—you also need to know how to run a laundromat.
By franchising with a trusted brand like Laundry Luv who is a veteran in the game, you don’t need to worry about not knowing what you’re doing as we are here to help you every step of the way. Contact us to learn more about the exciting opportunity to get into the laundromat industry.
