US Spending On Pets To Rise Over 25% In Next Two Years
Americans now spend $41 billion a year on their pets—more than the gross domestic product of all but 64 countries in the world, BusinessWeek reports in its Aug 6 issue.
That’s double the amount shelled out on pets a decade ago, with annual spending expected to hit $52 billion in the next two years, according to Packaged Facts, a consumer research company based in Rockville, Md. The company’s latest pet market research can be purchased here.
“People are no longer satisfied to reward their pet in pet terms,” argues Bob Vetere, president of the American Pet Products Manufacturers Assn. (APPMA).
“They want to reward their pet in human terms.” That means hotels instead of kennels, braces to fix crooked teeth, and frilly canine ball gowns. Pet owners are becoming increasingly demanding consumers who won’t put up with substandard products, unstimulating environments, or shoddy service for their animals, BW says.
PETsMART, Inc. has shifted its mission from being the top seller of pet food to helping consumers become better “pet parents.” Along with making its 928 retail locations homier and hosting pet parties, the company is rolling out blue-shingled “pet hotels” (kennels) in its stores.
America’s obsession with pets is creating a market for new products like Pfizer Inc.’s dog-obesity drug Slentrol, which will cost $1 to $2 a day. Reconcile, a new drug from Eli Lilly & Co. for “canine separation anxiety,” is based on the active ingredients in Prozac. Lilly has not suggested a retail price for Reconcile, and vets have a lot of latitude in deciding how much to charge for it. Overall, sales of pet health products have grown at a compound annual growth rate of 8.8% in recent years, more than double the rate in the late 1990s, BW reports.
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July 27th, 2007 at 4:21 pm
[...] US Spending On <b>Pets</b> To Rise Over 25% In Next Two Years [...]