Pet treats, gifts and grooming are the latest hot sellers in the pet product market.
By Rieva Lesonsky
It’s not news to anyone that America is pet crazy. And new numbers from a Harris Poll, released by Nielsen, show just how into our pets we are.
MediaPost’s MarketingDaily did a great job reporting the most recent stats:
- Americans spend nearly $20 billion a year on pet care.
- 62 percent of Americans own at least one pet.
- 71 percent of Gen X own pets.
- 65 percent of Millennials are pet owners.
- 71 percent of pet owners have at least one dog.
- 49 percent are cat owners.
- 11 percent have fish.
- 8 percent own a bird.
We’ve discussed pet opportunities several times before, but right now there appears to be a sure thing in the sales of pet treats. Of the $9.5 billion spent annually on dog food, $2.6 billion of that is for dog treats. Cats get treated less often; we only spend $476 million on cat treats.
MarketingDaily reports that according to research from Packaged Facts, “Sales growth in the treat market has consistently outpaced that of the more mature pet food market and pet supplies in general.” This growth, says MarketingDaily, is particularly impressive since pet owners have been especially cautious buying treats since “a wave of recalls” of pet treats made in China in 2012-2013. Right now “human-grade pet products” are what’s selling.
Can you get into the pet treat business? Yes: Though this article is a few years old, it still offers lots of good advice.
It’s not all about food, though. The Harris Poll also shows:
- 64 percent of pet owners buy their pets holiday gifts.
- 45 percent buy them birthday presents (54 percent of Millennials do this).
- Millennials also like to buy clothes for their animals.
- Pet toy sales last year totaled $389 million.
- Last year $166 million was spent on pet grooming (a field with a lot of local entrepreneurs), with $11 million spent on brushes alone.
