Online Pet Food Statistics
Nowadays a
large number of pet owners who are frequent Internet Users have started to Buy
Online Pet Food and many others are planning to change their Trend of buying
from Local Stores.
When asked
to give buzzwords to describe trends in the pet food and treat
market, many people regardless if they are industry experts or
pet parents—would answer with words found on many Pet Food packages:
natural, organic, corn-free and human-grade But perhaps the biggest trend is
not what list of ingredients pets are getting from their owners, but where those pet owners are getting
those popular niche food and treats.
Much
like consumers are going online to find electronics, books and
jewelry, passionate pet owners are finding online retailers to be far more
accommodating than the local pet store, often offering a much wider selection
of high quality items than smaller, mom-and-pop retailers provide. Although
the sluggish economy has been a mitigating short-term factor, relative to
in-store retail sales, Internet sales have been doing well, including in the
case of pet supplies, according to the Packaged Facts' report Pet Food in the US, 9th Edition.
According to
Forrester Research, online retail sales of pet supplies are expected to grow
76% from 2010 to 2014, from US$2.1 billion to US$3.7 billion, posting steady
double-digit annual increases and significantly outpacing almost all other
Internet categories. Helping to drive sales on the pet market side is the trend
whereby more smaller marketers and retailers are turning to the Internet as a
sales medium, as well as the above average (and still increasing) likelihood of
pet owners to shop via Internet and rely on it for information, says Packaged
Facts.
The Internet is especially well-suited as a sales venue for
“info-centric” health products like natural/organic and health-related
products. This includes petfoods with holistic claims, due to the medium's ability
to communicate product benefits and detailed product information, both through
product and e-tailer websites and via chat groups, blogs, email and social
media. Rather than offering direct sales online, most Pet food marketers still
find that selling through a third-party website is a more convenient and
cost-effective option. The two largest Pet food and supplies e-tailers are
Petsmart.com and Petco.com, with other leading pet-specific e-tailers including
PetFlow.com; PetFoodDirect.com, PetFoodExpress.com,feedyourpet.ie. There are
also many third-party e-tailers specializing in natural, organic and
holistic Pet Food products, including EarthlyPets.com.
Overall, these online pet retailers are more
sophisticated in their web design and ecommerce, reaching their target audience
via website usability, SEO, paid search and word of mouth via blogging and
discussion boards. These websites are still in the minority of a largely
fragmented pet marketplace even in 2011, but this gives a savvy pet
marketer an opportunity to stand out from the crowd.
