Packaged Facts: "Other" Pet Chains and Independent Pet Specialty Stores Refuse to Submit in Retail Tug-of-War

Though PetSmart and Petco are industry leaders, smaller regional/local pet chains and more traditional local/independent pet stores are finding ways to still compete with the big boys

News provided by

Packaged Facts

Aug 15, 2019, 12:35 ET

ROCKVILLE, Md., Aug. 15, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- In the new report U.S. Pet Market Focus: Pet Specialty Channel and Internet Shoppers, market research firm Packaged Facts estimates pet product sales of pet specialty stores other than PetSmart and Petco at under $6 billion in 2018.

These sales break out fairly evenly between regional/local pet chains and the more traditional local/independent pet stores--but momentum is on the side of the regional/local chains rather than the "mom and pop" independent stores. These "other" pet chain or independent stores consist primarily of smaller- and mid-size formats, although also with some superstore-size outlets among the regional chains.

As is also the case with PetSmart or Petco, top indicators for shopping at "other" pet stores including living in a top 25 metropolitan area and having a college or graduate degree. Packaged Facts estimates average annual customer household spending on pet products through this "other" pet store sector at $186, compared with an average of $234 for the pet superchains PetSmart and for Petco. As with PetSmart and Petco, average annual spending in the "other" pet store sector is lowered by a high degree of cross-shopping in other store-based channels and online.

Like the veterinarians as pet product sellers, pet chains and stores large and small are under the shadow of fast-growing e-commerce sales of pet supplies. Although dedicated pet stores might theoretically inspire higher levels of customer loyalty, the Internet effect in the pet products market is the reverse: the more specialized the store-based channel, the more heavily it's subject to online competition.

Data featured in the report reveal that the combined draw among dog- or cat-owning households in the "other" pet store sector notched up from 12% of U.S. households in 2008 to 14% as of 2018, equating to roughly a third of the combined PetSmart and Petco customer base. This notching up in customer base is attributable to aggressive expansion by pet chains other than PetSmart or Petco, which is counterbalancing the gradual decline of the independent pet store sector.

About the Report

U.S. Pet Market Focus: Pet Specialty Channel and Internet Shoppers (published 07/2019, 205 pages) is available for $3,495 from Packaged Facts.

Media members please contact our Communications Manager Daniel Granderson at [email protected] for a copy of the report summary. Those interested in purchasing the report can contact Research Specialist Jeff Miller at [email protected] or visit https://www.packagedfacts.com/updates/Pet-Specialty.

Focusing on the new landscape of competition and interplay between brick-and-mortar specialty channels and the Internet, U.S. Pet Market Focus: Pet Specialty Channel and Internet Shoppers focuses on the dog- or cat-owner customer base in the following retail sectors:

PetSmart and Petco as the nationally established pet superstore chains
other pet specialty chains and stores, including regional pet chains as well as traditional local/independent pet stores
the farm supply store channel, particularly Tractor Supply Co.
the Internet, particularly Chewy and Amazon

The analysis provided in U.S. Pet Market Focus: Pet Specialty Channel and Internet Shoppers covers pet ownership patterns, demographics, and cross-channel shopping. Included are current and forecasted 2023 dollar market sizes and market shares for each of these retail sectors, along with historically trended shopper shares. Coverage of pet owner shopping patterns are set in the context of current trends and future directions for retailing, drawing on Packaged Facts' U.S. Pet Market Outlook 2019-2020 and overall catalog of pet and veterinary industry market reports.

About Packaged Facts

Packaged Facts, a division of MarketResearch.com, publishes market intelligence on a wide range of consumer market topics, including consumer demographics and shopper insights, consumer financial products and services, consumer goods and retailing, and pet products and services. Packaged Facts also offers a full range of custom research services. Reports can be purchased at our company website and are also available through MarketResearch.com.

For more essential insights from Packaged Facts be sure to follow us on Twitter (@packaged_facts), LinkedIn, and YouTube.

Media Contact: [email protected]
To Unsubscribe: [email protected]

SOURCE Packaged Facts