Housewares stockists and utility brands are gaining sales thanks to the sensational influence of Instragram vlogger, Sophie Hinchcliffe, aka Mrs Hinch. The Essex hairdresser spends 30 minutes cleaning her home each day, posting videos to share her tips and provide inspiration. Her followers have risen to over 892,000 and are dubbed the Hinch Army.
Alison Hobbs, visual merchandiser at the recently crowned gia UK winner, Potters Cookshop in Hockley states: “Mrs Hinch Home has taken the cleaning market by storm. Everyone has gone mad about cleaning!”
In a window dedicated to cleaning products, Potters has been displaying a sign saying ‘Join the Hinch Army.” Alison reports: “One woman saw the sign and bought £30 of cleaning products. We’re tapping into Mrs Hinch’s following and taking photos for social media.”
Mrs Hinch has told fans that she gets many of her supplies from B&M, Poundland and Poundstretcher. Wilko is also a stockist for many of her favourite products. Each of Mrs Hinch’s cleaning tools has a name, including Minkeh, the Minky M Cloth Antibacterial Cleaning Pad, Vera the Vileda 1-2 Spray Mop, Dave the Pledge Fluffy Duster, Buddy the Spontex Microfibre Kitchen Cloth and Stewart the Scrubber, a Sonic Scrubber Electric Brush Cleaner. Mrs Hinch has also recommended a Dishmatic Cloth to make light work of cleaning the bin.
The vlogger says that cleaning has helped her combat anxiety and panic attacks, and reveals that she gets lots of positive feedback from followers with similar mental health issues.
The phenomenon of social media ‘cleaning influencers’ was a recent topic on BBC Radio 4’s You and Yours programme. Gemma Bray, aka The Organised Mum, commented on why her approach appeals to so many followers: “I don’t take it seriously; I’m always dancing around.”
Top: With balloons for detergent bubbles, the cleaning themed window at Potters of Hockley taps into Mrs Hinch’s fun attitude to cleaning.
