According to market research firm Packaged Facts. The U.S. pet industry posted its most significant growth ever in 2021.
Packaged Facts' report, called “U.S. Pet Market Focus: Pet Stores & Pet Specialty Retailing,” reported sales of pet specialty retailers and e-tailers topped $31 billion, with an 18 percent growth rate surpassing that of the overall pet industry.
However, increases in prices across all areas of pet products and pet care have had a major impact on consumers.
The survey of U.S. pet owners and pet product shoppers found 59 percent reported spending more on pet products than they expected, up from 45 percent in 2021, and 45 percent are spending more on pet products, up from 34 percent in 2021.
“Manufacturers across the pet market have slowly increased their prices,” according to report analyst Shannon Brown, “spurred by challenges in acquiring ingredients, packaging materials, and a host of other items that go into making and selling pet products.”
However, despite the rise in prices, the sales by specialized pet retailers remain strong. According to the report “…pet specialty retailers and e-tailers maintain a strong hand. The pet specialty market saw a flurry of activity between 2020 and 2022, with Chewy approaching $10 billion in annual sales.”
Packaged Facts also found in-store services are becoming an increasingly critical part to pet specialty retailers’ success in competing with Amazon and mass-market brick-and-mortar stores. “Grooming and boarding services feature prominently among pet specialty retailer marketing messages, as do veterinary care and the new dog training particularly important to millennials,” the report said.