Styled up pets – will they prosper? The US pet market vindicates purported recession-resistance.
NEW YORK, NY - While other industries crumble, the US pet market continues to prove its much-touted recession-resistance as several pet specialty retail chains, top pet food marketers, veterinary hospitals, and pet pharmacies have in recent months reported strong financial performance during the latter portion of 2008. According to market research publisher Packaged Facts in the brand-new report, 'US Pet Market Outlook 2009-2010: Surviving and Thriving in Challenging Economic Times', the pet market's foreseeable future is encouraging, with the expected slow-down of 2009 ultimately being recouped as the economy begins to recover in 2010 and 2011.
The report is based partly on February 2009 pet owner survey data polling 2600 US adults. Packaged Facts forecasts that the pet market, which was a $US51 billion business as of 2008, will eventually reach $US57 billion by 2010, an improvement on the relatively meagre projected total market growth of 6% for 2009 when the market is expected to finish at about $US53 billion. Hardest hit by the 2009 recession will likely be the market's two most discretionary categories — non-food pet supplies and pet services other than veterinary.
Health-related pet products, from high-grade foods to preventative veterinary care, are likely to emerge among the most recession-resistant because consumers typically view them as non-discretionary expenditures that can be far less costly than the kinds of long-term health conditions that potentially result from poor nutrition or inadequate medical care. Packaged Facts identifies the resiliency of health-related pet products as a testament to one of the true enduring factors influencing the strength of the US pet market overall: pet humanisation and the human-animal bond facet associated with the trend.
"Packaged Facts views pet humanisation as a dynamic, multifaceted shift that virtually guarantees steady pet market sales not just in 2009 and 2010, but well beyond," says Tatjana Meerman, publisher of Packaged Facts. "Many pet owners view their pets as fully-fledged members of the family, and would take no more lightly any serious cutbacks on spending for non-discretionary products and services than they would for their kids. In most cases, such cutbacks would only seriously be considered after owners have reduced spending on their own less essential needs." 'US Pet Market Outlook 2009-2010: Surviving and Thriving in Challenging Economic Times' brings readers up-to-the-minute regarding the four core market categories — veterinary services, pet food, non-food pet supplies and other pet services (grooming, boarding, training, etc.) — projecting sales and analysing key growth drivers and competitive opportunities for each.