The U.S. pet industry reached $86 billion in 2017 and continues to have a strong growth trajectory, according to a comprehensive new report by Packaged Facts titled U.S. Pet Market Outlook, 2018–2019.
While sales of pet products and services rose nearly 5% last year, threats of disruption keep industry players scrambling to adjust to a rapidly shifting market landscape.
From the rise of e-commerce to the role of pet-tech, here’s a look at several key trends that are reshaping the future of the pet industry.
1. E-Commerce Turns Up the Heat
Brick-and-mortar pet retailers are on the defensive as internet sales surge into the mid-double digits. Shoppers are migrating online at a rapid pace, and pet food and pet supply companies can no longer afford to miss out on this fast-growing channel.
According to a Packaged Facts’ 2018 survey of U.S. pet owners, 37% of online pet shoppers agree that “I am buying pet products online more than I used to,” and 14% have made a purchase within the last seven days. With a vast selection of products available online, convenient auto-replenishment programs, and low shipping costs, it’s no surprise that pet shoppers have increasingly gravitated to internet retailers.
2. Amazon Dominates Online Sales of Pet Products
If anyone has the power to make traditional pet retailers nervous, it’s Amazon — and for a good reason. Amazon boasts 65 million Prime members (and counting), a highly popular shopping app, and unique voice-shopping capabilities via the Amazon Echo. The e-commerce behemoth continues to outpace its competitors in the pet industry.
According to Packaged Facts, Amazon attracts more than half of those who purchase pet products online, surpassing Chewy.com, PetSmart.com, Petco.com, and Walmart.com by a significant margin. What’s more, Amazon is doubling down by implementing robotics innovations in its warehouses, which could give it an additional competitive advantage in the future.
3. Big-Box Pet Stores Aim to Diversify
“In the past few years, PetSmart, Petco, and Walmart have all been playing catch-up to online-based players, partly through acquisitions,” according to Packaged Facts. Last year, PetSmart snatched up Chewy.com in the most prominent e-commerce acquisition yet (topping even Walmart’s $3.3 billion acquisition of Jet.com). This pattern is likely to continue, as legacy retailers buy their way into the online shopping space.
Pet specialty big box stores and mass merchandisers are also offering online ordering paired with in-store pickup to take some part of the e-commerce market. In another bid to differentiate from the crowd, Petco and PetSmart are expanding their sources of revenue with more pet-care services, space where e-commerce sites cannot compete as well, at least for the time being.
4. New Smart Devices Address Pet-Care Needs
Technology has not only changed how many consumers purchase pet products, but it’s also changing the type of pet products available on the market. In particular, the rise of the Internet of Things and smart devices is transforming pet care in new ways.
With new pet tech products, pet owners can now track their pet’s physical activity, location, and health metrics. Internet-connected video cameras and treat dispensers have been upgraded to allow pet owners to engage with their pets via Skype-like connections and dispense food while away from home. The goal of these smart devices is to eliminate stress for busy pet owners and to better care for the needs of dogs and cats.
Packaged Facts also expects to see veterinary services move toward digital, alongside the advancement of Internet-based solutions and applications designed to assist veterinary professionals.
Pawtocol aims to take the pet care industry into the blockchain age by developing a platform with a pet-focused economy and ecosystem. This paper outlines our vision and philosophy behind Pawtocol and why we are taking this project to market, as well as our progress to date and why we are the right team for it.
Pawtocol was inspired by a shared vision to build a global community of pet parents, service providers, and manufacturers who are unified towards improving pet care. We have a mission to help pets all around the world live longer and healthier lives by empowering pet caretakers with cutting edge technology and data.
The Pawtocol vision is to introduce the new era of decentralization and transparency to the pet industry. Network participants will be incentivized to collect and feed data to Pawtocol’s AI — which in turn will make AI-enhanced diet and care recommendations for crowd-verified food products, toys, and service providers. Pawtocol will naturally reward quality businesses by allowing their products and services to appear in targeted in-app recommendations and open doors to a vast audience of new potential customers.
