The pet market is currently booming, with consumers spending more of their disposable income on luxury pet accessories and treats.
An investigation by Mintel into the market for pets found that 51% of pet owners would rather cut back money on themselves than on their pets. Whilst 54% of those aged between 19 and 38 years old claimed they would go without so they could afford to pamper their pets. The research also showed that 40% of young pet owners admitted that they would spend just as much money on their pet at Christmas as they would on a friend.
The rise of animal social media influencers
Social media is continuing to play a role in a large amount of peoples lives. This has seen the rise of animal social media influencers, who have their own social media pages, for example ‘Doug the Pug’ has an Instagram following of 3.7 million. Pets are commonly pictured with their pet food which helps to aid brand awareness for pet food businesses.
Ownership Expansion
A total of 33% of consumers aged 25-44 years old in the UK owned a dog and 29% owned a cat. The total value of the UK Pet Market in 2017 was £6.5 billion and accounted for 1.8% of the UK retail market. Analysts believe that there will be steady growth with the value forecast to be £7 billion for 2020-21. The pet sector is witnessing a trend for consumers increasingly treating their pets as humans and this is leading to category growth.
