Introduction: Where is the money, where is the heart? How long can the emotionally supported American pet industry be hot in the future?
"If I don't eat, I want my 'cat master' to eat well!"
"What kind of good thing is this, buy it home and give it to my dog to play with!"
With the progress of society and the improvement of people's living standards, more and more families have begun to treat pets as members of the family. The companionship and fun provided by pets can also bring many health and psychological benefits to the owner. To soothe the fatigue of the workers, it is still up to the hairy children...
The status of pets in the family is becoming more and more important, many pet owners adhere to the concept of "no matter how hard you can't hurt your children", they have not cut pet expenses during the epidemic, and the new data released by the American Pet Association shows that pet spending in 2022 increased by nearly 11% over the previous year!
As the largest pet market in the United States, what are the characteristics of consumers? What are the unique needs?
Millennials are the main force, and women have more decision-making power to nurture pets
After more than 100 years of development of the US pet market, pets have an important position in the family, and raising pets requires certain economic strength. Therefore, most of the pet owners in the United States are groups with fixed income or savings, and millennials born at the end of the 20th century are not only the mainstay of social operations, but also the main group of pets.
More than 70% of millennials own pets, and more dogs are owned than cats. Even during the holidays, they don't forget to buy gifts for their furry children or dress up for the festive atmosphere.
The next more pets are baby boomers and Generation X, who are older than millennials, but may be better at savings. Moreover, pets are also considered good companions for the elderly, and baby boomers may need the company of pets even more.
In the U.S. pet market, women account for a higher share than men. Overall, the proportion of women owning pets is 10% higher than that of men, accounting for about 55%. At the same time, relevant surveys have also found that women have more "decision-making power" in the matter of pets, and men are more likely to choose to keep pets because of their partners' needs.
Whether from the perspective of quantity or discourse power, the target users of pet products are more inclined to women, so in the direction of marketing, they can also focus more on the feminine perspective, focusing on warmth, companionship, and details.
According to the survey, the occupational classification of pet owners in the United States is very broad, but the vast majority have full-time/part-time jobs, followed by retirees. Since there are working people as the mainstream, pet products that can adapt to their rhythm and needs will be better sold.
American consumers under inflation: no matter how bitter you are, you can't suffer your children
U.S. inflation has plagued consumers around the world in 2022, and U.S. consumers are no exception, with respondents in the APPA (American Pet Products Association) survey saying they spent 60% less on discretionary items compared to the previous year, and 57% of consumers would spend more cautiously.
Although the financial situation is tight, the love for pets is even more! Especially during the pandemic at home, pet companionship has become even more important. According to the survey, the main motivations of American consumers to keep pets include "companionship", "the needs of other family members", "psychological needs"... Especially in terms of obtaining cultivation and alleviating psychological pressure, female consumers feel more strongly than male consumers. One of the motivations of male consumers to pet is even to motivate themselves to exercise more.
On the whole, pets are more out of "psychological" and "emotional" needs, so even if they are financially tight, American consumers will not be too frugal in spending money on pets. According to the new APPA survey, 42 percent of consumers say they spend more, with 53 percent of Gen Z saying they spend more on pet supplies. The main increase in spending was on food and vitamins/supplements.
Source: PPA, changes in spending on pet supplies
The US APPA also said that American consumers have a firm attitude towards pet product spending, especially on food, and consumers will easily not cut. At the very least, 66 percent of respondents agreed: "My pet's diet is very important to me, so I don't plan to make any changes to it, regardless of my financial situation." ”
At the same time, American pet owners are also very concerned about brands, with 57% of consumers being very loyal to brands when buying food and pet care products. In fact, it is not difficult to understand that consumers pay more attention to pet health, and pet food and care products are directly related to pet health, and brands that have good brands, reputations or users have tried and are used to naturally make them feel more at ease.
Although consumers love quality products and have a higher price acceptance of mid-to-high-end products, cost-effective products can also capture their hearts. Cheap and easy to use, who doesn't love it?
On the other hand, the current economic uncertainty still exists, if the assets are reduced, most pet owners said that they will reduce the expenditure on toys and beauty supplies, and try to keep the level of food and treatment unchanged, after all, health and happiness are the top issues in the eyes of pet owners.
The Internet is becoming the main source of information for pet owners
Where do U.S. consumers get their products and related information?
According to the results of the APPA survey, offline is still the main place, and 51% of pet owners will buy products in physical stores. But the role of the web is also becoming increasingly important. 20% of U.S. consumers place orders directly online and have them shipped to their homes, and 13% browse pet supplies in stores before buying them at different online retailers.
The survey also shows that in the past period, vitamins/supplements were the main products purchased online, and toys and bedding were purchased online for more than 30%.
Related products on Amazon
Interestingly, although some pet owners do not choose to buy pet products online, they will also browse pet supplies information on the Internet, and even purchase products offline based on this information.
On the one hand, pet owners can obtain more detailed and rich product information from online pet supply stores to provide reference for their own decision-making. On the other hand, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and other graphics, pictures, videos and other social media platforms can also provide pet owners with more pet breeding information, and users can also exchange breeding experience and experience with each other. For example, some pet bloggers will share pet raising skills and health knowledge on the platform, which also invisibly affects consumers' cognition and consumption habits.
For cross-border people, this means that the requirements for the product are higher. In the Internet era, information transparency is high, consumers have a wide range of channels to obtain real product information, evaluation, only products that are truly valuable to consumers can establish a brand and go further.
However, this presents a huge opportunity for brands to run marketing campaigns on the internet. Through targeted advertising and social media campaigns, brands can more effectively attract consumers' attention and maintain good word-of-mouth and brand reputation.
From large numbers across borders