Pet industry statistics | What you need to know
If you are planning on going into the pet business or hoping to start a pet store or service center, then you probably should follow your heart and pay attention to the pet industry statistics as the pet industry is a booming and is a highly viable business.
The American Pet Products Association in 2016 stated that pet owner spent a whopping 62.75 billion dollars on their pet and the expenditure went up to almost 70 billion dollars in 2017 and 80 billion dollars in 2018, the best part is, the market is as some say is “recession proof” with great prospect and opportunities for anyone interested in investing in the pet industry.
How it all started?
As pet moves into mainstream American life, it is well worth it to take a look back to how it all started and how it has evolved to the big money-making machine it is today providing everything from food, pet convenience, and services as more pet is being humanized. It all began in 1994, when our love for pet took a turn after the industry raked in a total of 17 billion dollars and since then, well the figures speak for themselves. In fact, the AAPA is projecting revenue of almost 100 billion dollars in sales from pets and pets convenient as the figures keeping climbing. The statistics say a lot and the choice is yours.
From 1994 till 2017, the pet industry market has more than quadruple to 69.51 billion dollars. A breakdown on the markets shows that pet food gulped the sum of 29.07 billion dollars, 15.11 billion dollars on over the counter pet medication and supplies, 17 billion spent on veterinary care and check up, over 2 billion dollars on purchase of live animals and the balance of 6.16 billion on pet grooming and boarding services. The results are for the previous year; the pet industry has since climbed up the ladder in 2108.
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The pet industry statistics covers every area of the industry from retailers of live pets to the service business. Since 1994, the number of pet owners in the US has more than tripled with over 89.7 million dogs registered in 2017, and the total pets in the US ranging from legally homed pets to stray and abandoned animals are at a staggering number of over 300 million pets. These numbers equate to more mouths to feeds, more shelters, grooming, coaching, and general pet services as owners are willing to spend top dollars to give their furry friends the best that money can buy.
Analyzing the Pet industry statistics
- As popular as cats and dogs are as pets, they have a big competition in the little scaly animals of the oceans. Fishes account for over one hundred million pets in the United States today.
- In the UK, there are over eleven million cats to the almost nine million dogs with rabbits as the next preferred pet aside dogs and cats.
- Other favored pets are birds of all variety that are legal by law.
- The number of animals in shelters euthanized has reduced from 1.5 million as more pets in shelters now have owners, and people reporting missing animals are successfully found, and returned to their owners. Furthermore, 3.2 million animals in shelters are adopted each year which is 50 percent of dogs and cats.
- In the UK, a total of 102, 363 are lost or missing annually, which equates to about 300 pets found daily. Unlike the United States, the UK has more stray cats than dogs.
- Although there are more cats than dogs in America, 44 percent of houses own a dog while 35 percent have a cat. The number of cats to dogs is 85.6 to 78 million respectively.
- 40 percent of pet owner got the animal through word of mouth than in any advert or commercial.
- 34 percent of dog pets are from dog breeders while 23 percent of dogs and 31 percent of cats are gotten from animal shelters and humane society. With that said, dog lovers existing everywhere on the planet from South America to Ireland and Asia while cat lovers are mostly in Western Europe.
The Pet Food Industry
With all these pets moving around, feeding is paramount to the pet owner. The total revenue for 2018 stands at 72.13 billion dollars with almost 30 billion dollars spent on food and nutrition for their pets. Besides the fact is that the pet food industry is growing and has been so since 1994, the 26 billion dollars food industry has pet owners wanting more variety with the need for more nutritional value foods growing more as the revenue stacked up in amazing numbers. However, two factors driving the pet food industry are humanization and premiumization. As more pet owners treat their animals as part of the family, the sales of pet food will never drop with more people buying pets daily, but the drive for the best products is driving sales up annually. The statistics for pet food are high up with the United States taking a larger chunk of 29.88 billion dollars from the global revenue of 94 billion dollars in 2017. Two companies make up the bulk of pet stores foods in the United States, PetSmart and PetCo take up about 60 percent of the pet market and are responsible for making dry dog and cat food, and private labels followed by other big names like Pedigree and Meow Mix. Other foods gaining ground in the food market are natural and organic pet foods, clean label pet foods, and grain-free foods. According to the Envision Intelligence report for the pet food market, a 4.8 percent growth is taking place with annual sale estimated to reach 107.42 billion dollars at the end of 2024.
The average pet owner spends about 20 to 60 dollars a month for dog food; this amount does not include dog treat, special orders, and therapeutic diets. This amount also depends on the breed and energy level of the dog.
Vet care, over the counter medicines and supplies:
The next money-making aspect in the pet industry is the care of the animals. Dogs and cats like any other mammals are prone to infection and disease and need check-up when they are sick. The pet industry vet care raked in a total of 18.26 billion dollars. Pet owners want the best care for their pets, and except in rare cases, euthanasia is never an option with pet owners. Routine veterinary care involves annual checkup, lab work, dental cleaning, and unexpected emergency cost total in thousands of dollars daily. A breakdown of the following expenses is about 200 to 300 dollars for checkups, 100 to 300 dollars for lab work. A dental cleaning procedure costs about 300 to 800 dollars annually, and more if your dog has an infection or older. Pet owners should budget 700 to 1500 dollars annually for vet care or more depending on the breed. The American Society for the prevention of Cruelty to Animals says a small dog will set you back 1,314 dollars in the first years while a medium and large dog will cost 1,580 and 1,843 dollars respectively.
Well, let break down how we spend almost 19 billion dollars in the pet industry.
The average pet owners spend the following annually
Vet treatment |
Cost for dogs in $ |
Cost for cats in $ |
Cost for birds in $ |
Cost for other animals in $ |
Surgical visit | 474 | 245 | 45 | – |
sick visit | 204 | 244 | 138 | |
Emergency visits | 349 | 154 | 107 | 471 for horses |
Heartworm medication | 102 | 65 | 540 for hoof care | |
Routine visit | 257 | 182 | 102 | 549 |
Vitamins/supplements | 58 | 46 | 40 | 43 for freshwater fish and 132 for saltwater fish |
Flea and tick control | 85 | 77 | 49 | 102 |
With more pets, veterinary doctors are getting paid for their passion and love for the animal with the average salary for a vet slated at $ 87.849, and according to the AVMA, vet enjoys a 6 percent salary increase annually regardless of the inflation and cost of living. Furthermore, the BLS projects almost 15,000 new jobs in various fields by 2026. If you never thought of being a veterinary doctor, think again. It is an excellent profession with great salary growth and like the pet industry, its recession-proof.
Pet services: grooming and boarding
In 2017, the pet grooming and boarding stood at 6.16 billion dollars, and the industry has experienced 6.8 percent growth to rake in revenue of 8 billion dollars in 2018, during this time, the number of pet grooming businesses grew by 5.1 percent with an upsurge of 6.7 percent in the employment rate. This sector consists of the following services, pet grooming, boarding, pet daycare, pet sitting, dog walking, and other services such as dog apparel, specialty styles, and body treatment liquids like shampoos and bathing gels, spa and oral hygiene, tooth brushing and breath freshener, or items of clothing. Pet owners are will to pay top dollar to get their furry friends comfortable and happy whether they are present or not. The grooming industry is not for everyone, but dog groomers make good money and depend on the coat with groomers charging as high as $14 per hours with owners spending $300 to $500 annually.
Another trend in the pet industry is pet sitting or boarding that care for your pets in your absence. Even though pets board an airplane, pet owners often leave their pet behind every once in a while. A sitter will set the owner between 100 – 300 dollars. However, with pet visa now applicable in some countries, expect an increase in your travel fee though if you are rolling with your pet. In to make the journey and process easy, 51 percent or pet owners that travel with their pets have pet insurance which has spiked 20 percent in the past five years. Pet sitters charge 20 to 30 dollars a day with an average 30 minutes visit cost $25 and 75 to 80 dollar for overnight pet sitting and more for a 24 hours care or additional care or services. The projections for the pet grooming industry is said to go up 4.19 CAGR between 2016 and 2020 and is a viable trend that is seeing that pet owners want more luxury and premium quality products for their pets. Other tools in the pet grooming section are a sum of 25 to 300 dollars annually for training classes, and other amenities like toys, doggy dates, playtime and others.
Finally, the entire pet industry, growth, and its success hinge on more people becoming pet owners. So what do the statistics say about owning a pet?
According to pet ownership statistics, the USA has the highest number of dog, cat and fish pets in the world with Brazil having the highest bird pets in the world. Other statistics worth knowing and trending in the pet industry are:
- 27 percent of Americans had had their pet pictures taken at least once
- 36 percent of pet owners celebrate and give birthday presents to their pets
- Romania is the only country in the world with an equal population of cats and dogs
- Brazil has the highest numbers of small dogs in the world
- Most US pet owners have two instead of one
- 39 percent of pet owners buy from Amazon online stores
- Pet owners grow every year
- Dogs are the most common pets around the world
- About half a million home have snake pets
The statistics of the pet industry is amazing with mouth-watering prediction in the market area for all sectors that make up the industry. The global pet industry is on the rise with open opportunities for anyone with a soft spot for animals. The statistics don’t lie, some are estimate figures, but as more people rely on animals for reason other than guards, the market will continue to grow, so dive it with a good business plan and enjoy great success.
Want to grow and scale your Pet Business ?? Then you need to apply right targeted strategies & an Automated System which can bring a lot of Pet owners as your customers!! Click here to know more!