In Matthew Parris’ Diary column in The Times is an article entitled: ‘The horrors of trying to use shower gel. Can anyone actually name the advantage of shower gel over soap?’

While we don’t entirely agree with how dreadful he suggests shower gel is, it has generated a lot of discussion here at The Value Engineers, what actually are the advantages of shower gel over soap? Quite a few it seems, after a quick office tally, the clear advantages appear to be as follows:

• It is more moisturising
• It is less messy (it leaves less residue etc.)
• It is better for travelling (although there are some against this opinion due to leaks)
• It is more hygienic (no one likes hair on the soap)
• It looks better in the bathroom (a sleek bottle vs. a soggy bar of soap)
• It is easier to put it in the shower (with the ability to hang not requiring a soap dish)
• It is easy to distinguish between different variants with distinctive benefits; exfoliating gel, polishing gel, moisturising, refreshing, partly because it is always packaged
• It has more of an emotional connection, consumers are familiar with the brands and having Molten Brown clearly on display does ‘make them feel good’… soap is just soap, very few brands stand out here

However, not all would agree with this, it feels that everyone has an opinion and does have a strong preference for one format over the other; soap does provide a feeling of nostalgia / pampering for many and therefore taps into the emotional connection. It is also seen as versatile, used for both hand and body occasions throughout the home (kitchen, bathroom, toilet…). For many it is also perceived to give a deeper clean, is more natural/ organic/ kinder to skin, better at killing germ and its cheaper.

What is apparent is that whether people prefer soap or shower gel is hugely influenced by the environment and culture they live in…

In much of South America, people prefer soap over shower gel simply because it’s a really hot environment, people have to shower 2 or 3 times a day and soap is more cost effective, provides the functional deep clean, is perceived to last longer and is cheaper…

In the former Eastern Bloc soap is much more prevalent because shower gel has only recently been introduced (and up until the 90s even kitchen soap was a commodity that was difficult to get hold of); soap is a familiar format with easily communicable benefits…

India and many of the Middle East countries use soap because the less affluent will use a single bar of soap for several different occasions/ purposes and in India in particular, deodorant is a rarity, so soap is used instead to provide that perceived lasting prevention against odour…

In contrast in Western Europe and the US shower gel is the norm, soap is felt to be out-dated and shower gel is relative cheap anyway. Westerners do believe that shower gel provides a deep clean, has a lasting fragrance and helps prevent odour just as much as soap does, if not better…

The big difference in global markets reiterates the notion of ‘not one size fits all,’ there is no one innovation, however successful or game-changing in a category, which everyone adopts.  Different formats will suit different people and will have perceived benefits unique to that person. I use shower gel because it’s less messy, Matthew Parris uses soap because it’s less messy…