No product delivery system has changed household cleaning habits like a trigger sprayer. Decades ago, lifestyle changes were emerging, giving us less time to clean and prioritize cleaning. The trigger sprayer guarantees consumers a convenient cleaning ability and eliminates the situation that they feel inadequate to reduce the cleaning time.
Since then, the trigger spray delivery system has been used for more surfaces and more cleaning applications. Today's general cleaning formulas place requirements on the packaging structure, but the simple glass cleaning era does not. Despite the improvements in ergonomics, I think no one will really re-evaluate the performance of the trigger spray bottle because of its wide range of uses.
If you have ever purchased these spray cleaners, then you will know that a lot of things will happen at the point of sale. Moreover, not many. Most rely on the color of the product displayed through a translucent bottle to convey efficacy and purpose. However, it is interesting that almost no brand distinguishes trigger spray products by form, promised function or ergonomics.
I say "actually" because some methods (such as Method) try to deviate from the norm. Unfortunately, the consumers I talked to insisted that a breakthrough in this category would actually hurt the product's opportunity. They said: What exactly is the cleaning department doing? "
Now, this does not mean that Method does not provide the services that it deserves to the target population. It just means that most consumers I talk to are not aware of this.
Except for the method, there are not many obvious structural changes on the shelf. But this is not to say that ergonomics and usability have been ignored. Manufacturers must adapt to unlimited palm sizes, grip preferences and usage dynamics. However, in my opinion, they seem to have made some very deliberate and necessary trade-offs when designing the trigger sprayer unit.
So, when it must serve such a wide range of users and uses, how to provide guidance for improving this iconic packaging structure? Well, I want to demonstrate two points:
The design strategy of the trigger sprayer has not kept up with its widespread use on multiple surfaces in multiple environments. The advent of "universal" cleaners exacerbated this problem by making people expect a bottle to perform well in all situations.
Although there may be some real "friction points" that need to be resolved, the real opportunity may be to allow consumers to enjoy a use experience beyond their expectations, thereby bringing consumers pleasure.
It is true that the women I observed said there was nothing wrong with the trigger spray bottle. However, when I watched them handle the bottles throughout the experience cycle (from storage to disposal), I realized a clear opportunity for innovation.
Water storage tank
Granting, managing, and organizing multi-person households (all these are) is hard work. Moreover, the appearance under the sink (kitchen and bathroom) where trigger spray products are mainly stored also proves this point. This is particularly interesting because other storage locations and surfaces around the house show the urge to almost have to be organized, marked, and contained.
So, what happened under the sink? Well, this is a collective term for a variety of messy cleaning products and non-cleaning products. The cleaning cloth sits on top of the spray bottle. The paper towel roll is bent. Spray cans, sponges, tools and even food are all competing for the same real estate.
As for the trigger spray bottles, their spherical, inefficient form is of no avail. There are many sinking terrains, which are characterized by wall-to-wall bushes, and the trigger sprouts above the ground like treetops.
The lady I spoke to counted on the color of the nozzles above the crowd to identify products. However, even if the print heads are color-coded, there are still some trial and error, because they will pick up and put down the print head several times until the correct print head is found. See any opportunities so far?
Some of these women put products in repetitive positions. Others transport collections of cleaning utensils from the central storage facility to the place of use. Obviously, for those who ship products at home, this is an opportunity to help them manage multiple bottles and other cleaning supplies.
• How to make the spray bottle under the sink more visible and easier to identify and use?
• Which bottle form can bring additional benefits to the organization, thereby effectively covering the footprint?
• Given that this trip also includes other unsuitable tools such as wipes, brushes and paper towel rolls, how can we assist in transporting multiple spray bottles? And how do we "integrate" these products to simplify storage and transportation?
I also found other opportunities elsewhere in the experience cycle.
Clean the scene
I find that the kitchen is more like a clean environment with a horizontal surface, and the bathtub is more like a clean environment with a vertical surface. This is important because the trigger spray bottle interacts with the hand differently depending on the type of surface to be cleaned. And different trigger/crawl configurations seem to be more beneficial to each environment.
Some bottles have a protruding flange on the back of the spray head, requiring the user to put the weight on the back of the hand. Others want to put most of the weight on the handle, where the fingers and palm meet the bottleneck.
For example, when spraying a horizontal surface similar to a kitchen countertop, the nozzle must rotate downward. To achieve this angle, the weight of the bottle must swing up and down like a pendulum. I found that the weight of the flange on the back of the hand allows the user's fingers to have more freedom, and the bottle can be pulled back and pointed downward without straining the wrist.
When spraying water on a vertical surface like a shower in a bathroom, the opposite is true. Pointing the nozzle upward requires pressure against the neck of the bottle in the palm of your hand. The deep contour of the front neck seems to help consumers most effectively bear the weight of their hands. Some users also appreciate the texture and contours on the back of some bottlenecks.
However, it must be pointed out that this configuration makes it more difficult to spray horizontal surfaces, because the fingers must not only carry and swing the weight, but also activate the trigger. And, in the same way, it does not seem very effective to require heavy objects to be placed on the back of the hand when spraying vertical surfaces, because the palm is best for swinging the bottle upward.
Why is this important? Because a key learning is that because the configuration of the trigger sprayer occupies more positions, tasks and surfaces, the best performance may not be achieved in every situation. Some other situational differences regarding the spray action itself complicate this consciousness.
In the kitchen, it seems that complete coverage is not important. The product will be sprayed everywhere, and then use paper towels (or rarely used rags) to spread the cleaner on the entire surface. Multiple trigger pumps are required, and certain trigger nozzle configurations require tilted wrists to fatigue this. However, more interesting is the short trigger stroke used to pin annoying spots, enter narrow spots, or avoid spots that should not be sprayed (wood, sockets, etc.). The need for control is the insight here.
In the bathroom, full coverage is essential. Large vertical surfaces require air extraction. Full coverage is important because higher surfaces may never be scrubbed, and contact with cleaning agents may be all the cleaning power they get. Some users rely on gravity to pull the product off the wall and clean it with it. All of this means a large number of trigger actions, and the need to disperse products at close and long distances.
The multiple materials in the bathroom present other challenges. Users do not want cleaners to touch wallpaper or other finishes. They also need to scrub difficult items such as door rails, handles, towel bars and faucets. What are they doing? They spray rags or towels instead of objects. In this way, the cleaners can accurately reach the place where they are needed.