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We understand the Pet Industry
The UK Pet Industry is growing year on year, and has become more and more diverse, innovative, and humanised as it grows. It’s exciting, it’s fun and its consumer base includes almost half of all homes in the UK. A lot of sectors within retail and customer purchase would love to have such buoyant statistics and market share.
Pet owners in the UK spend more than £7.9 billion per year on their pet companions (PFMA)
The highest grossing category being predictably dog food at approximately 3.2 billion pounds, yet interestingly other categories are also thriving such as enrichment toys, treats, health & hygiene, and accessories.
Interestingly, more than 55% of pet owners now live in urban areas and about one-third are under the age of 40 (pet world business) changing the previous demographic dramatically and aligns very much with the concept of humanisation.
We’ve been working with some of the UK’s leading pet brands for over a decade, so we’re bursting with expertise, passion and understanding.
Our delivery and execution have raised awareness, driven sales, ensured better visibility and most importantly stock on shelf and availability in store.
Online demand for pet products is high, and Amazon and is a heavyweight player in pet sales (with a lot of this stemming from the pandemic back in 2019/20. Although pet stores were classed as essential retail, many stores suffered from empty shelves due to supply chain issues. The company has over 21 distributors in the United Kingdom, and the website receives more than 579 million visits each year. These distributors provide the people of the UK with more than £12 million of merchandise per annum. (Statista)
Amazon’s pet food sales have grown by 67% in just the last 2 years. (VentureForge)
Online is and has been the greatest challenge to retail for many years, and in some cases causing the biggest headache for the independent retailer and the high store chain with large out of town store footprints. It’s a challenge, but with any challenge there are always solutions.
At Mirror we can offer the solutions to support in counteracting the above and concentrate on the many opportunities within this growth industry. For example:
Did you know 20% of pet owners spend at £20 per month in the UK on outfits for their pets (Geo Marts)?
Also, due to breed and maintenance requirements, about 60% of dogs in the UK require some form of grooming every 6-8 weeks. (Groom Arts)
The market contains more than 12 million dogs and 12 million cats, and people in the United Kingdom spend more than £2,000 per year caring for their pets. (Statista)
We understand just how much the UK loves its pets, and the pet industry has a solid future ahead of it. Consumers are becoming more informed about their pets and their complex, individual needs, and customers are willing to spend to keep their pets happy and healthy.
Ensuring the correct messaging, showcasing that you are experts within the industry – clear signposting and easy to understand POS, improved visibility, better in-store and a more rewarding customer experience can genuinely drive sales, awareness, and customer loyalty.
We know the average dog owner in the UK will be spend £2,000 per year caring for their pooch (Statista).
Regular merchandising and prominent product placement can serve pet brands well, along with impactful and informative POS on and around the shelf to create more brand awareness. Secondary siting such as clip strips, FSDUs, countertop units or link ups with other brands can provide great results. Sampling, awareness days and attending events can open your brand to new audiences.
Pet owners are inclining more to humanize pets taking special care of their diet, health, and the lifestyle of their pet – giving the market a big boost. The pet humanization trend is leading to the introduction of product lines like the human diet. Leading to an increase in demand for pet food varieties such as gourmet, homemade, clean labels, prepared with locally sourced ingredients, with high protein, vegetable, and other nutritional contents.
Raw meat and freeze-dried raw meat products have also gained in popularity among pet owners. One of the fastest-growing segments of pet food is the dog and cat treat market. Products such as muffins, soups, crisps, sausages, popcorn, beer, and wine for cats and dogs are also displaying a rapid growth rate. The use of insects as an alternative source of protein in pet food has also garnered the attention of manufacturers aiming towards sustainable production practices. Vegan dog food is also the current trend in the country as more humans are opting for vegetarianism. Many dogs are also allergic to animal proteins. For dogs that are susceptible to allergies and other health problems, certified animal nutritionists and veterinarians will recommend animal-free diets.
Humanisation goes much further can what our pet’s food. A pet’s lifestyle has evolved massively – with pet’s having their own social pages. They have multiple leads and collars/harnesses, outfits – practical ones such as coats, and those for every occasion including sleepwear. Many pets have more than one bed in many homes, and enrichment toys are booming (supporting mental health and stimulation) scents and pampering products, and training toys – where you can teach your dog to communicate via pressing buttons (such as hunger for words).
In an exciting, innovative, yet-crowded market – with online growth snapping at your heels – why not see how Mirror can partner to provide your in-store and out of store retail strategy.
Unit 3 Stockwell Centre
Stephenson Way
Three Bridges
RH10 1TN
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