Companion Animal Owners Fetch Billions

A survey from interclick reveals that companion animal care continues to be one of the fastest growing retail categories and that the drivers behind companion animal owner purchases influence as many as 62% of all U.S. households.

In this study, 569 U.S. companion animal owners were surveyed to reveal major influences over their purchase decisions; nearly 40% of companion animal owners budget up to $50/month to spend on their companions at major retailers. In total, 2010 national expenditures in the companion animal industry totaled nearly $48 billion.

The factors that drive spending most frequently include price, organic, veterinary recommendations, brand names, and word of mouth from friends and family. Dog owners are more likely to be influenced by word of mouth and less likely to be influenced by price than cat owners. Specifically, dog owners spend 25% more at major companion animal retailers and they are 50% more likely to purchase branded or organic foods compared to cat owners.

Men are more likely to own dogs (72%), while women are more likely to own cats (60%).