February 17, 2023

2022 – 2023 China’s Pet Industry Marketing and Consumer Research

The economic scale of the pet consumer market has been expanding in China in recent years, with the rise of the trend of exquisite pets breeding, pet owners buy pets New Year meal sales increased by 64% YoY, pet New Year clothing sales increased by 55% YoY, obviously, the new trend of pets raising is to celebrate the New Year for pets. According to the “iiMedia Research | 2022-2023 China Pet Industry Development and Consumer Research Report” released by iiMedia Research, the data shows that the pet economy will grow by 25.2% YoY in 2022, and the market size is expected to reach 811.4 billion yuan in 2025. A few of the reported data are summarized below.

Analysis of the development status of China’s pet industry

Social environment

The single economy and the silver-haired economy are important factors driving the development of the pet industry because single people have stronger spending power than married people, and pets can serve as companions; with the increase in the population over 60 years old, pet ownership for empty nesters in their later life can help improve the happiness of life and reduce one’s loneliness.

The scale and forecast of China’s pet food industry from 2015 to 2025

The high-growth nature of the pet industry has now become a blue ocean in the market, and the development of society and the concept of keeping pets are constantly popularizing. Since pet food is high consumption, attracting many start-ups such as local brands to join, the market share will gradually increase, so it is expected that the scale of China’s pet food market will reach 267 billion yuan in 2025.

Development overview and forecast of pet products in China

Among the market segment, pet daily necessities accounted for 38.8%, pet cleaning and care products accounted for 38.2%, pet clothing and travel products accounted for 16.9%, and other products accounted for 6.1%. Chinese consumers’ demand for pet products continues to increase, in addition to meeting the basic daily physiological needs of pets, they also pay more attention to entertainment, grooming and cleaning care, thus promoting the growth of pet consumption. Data shows that with the pet economy’s impel economy, it is estimated that the pet products market will reach 48.4 billion yuan in 2025.

In addition, from the consumption data, it can be seen that the purchase of many intelligent pet products has increased by more than 80% YoY, such as smart water dispensers, smart feeders, smart litter boxes, etc., while Xiaomi, Midea, Haier and other technology giants entering the pet product industry across the sector will bring new growth points to the smart products category.

Consumer Research

Consumer profile

The female group accounted for 62.3%; mainly concentrated 31-40 years old; 56.2% of the group are corporate personnel, and there are more corporate management and normal employees; they belong to the middle-to-high income group (income of about 5k-15k).

Consumer consumption frequency and access to information

The frequency of pet food consumption by pet owners in China is concentrated in 1-2 or 3-4 times per month, and comprehensive e-commerce platforms are the main way to obtain information, followed by short-video platforms, pet store platforms and content recommendation platforms. Consumers more intuitively and clearly understand the details of pet products such as the production date of pet food, food formula, etc., through the form presented by the e-commerce platforms, such as live broadcast or comment function, and it is easier to conclude transactions.

Analysis of pet food purchase needs and concerns

Currently, many functional foods have appeared in the pet food market, among which the purchase demand survey for consumers shows that the “digestion” function has the highest demand, followed by “calcium supplementation”, “tooth cleaning”, “skincare” and “joint function”, but consumers will consider whether these functions match their pets in the choice of pet food. Consumers are most concerned about the pet’s preferences, followed by the convenience and palatability of purchase, and other factors include formula, word of mouth, brand and so on.

Analysis of the development trend of China’s pet industry in 2022 – 2023

Diversification and refinement will become a new trend in pet food consumption

Pet food is no longer limited to simple satiety but also has protective and repairing effects on a pet’s nervous system, immune system, bones and joints, etc., functional pet food is becoming more and more refined and diversified.

The synergy between online and offline channels becomes the optimal sales model

The data shows that 72.1% of consumers purchase pet products from offline pet stores, and 64.4% from e-commerce channels. From the perspective of the long-term development trend of the pet industry, an omnichannel operation is the foundation of the development of the pet industry. Brands can establish a good brand image through offline channels, build the foundation of brand effect, and then amplify revenue scale through online channels.

Nutritious and healthy pet food, the rise of domestic brands

Consumers pay more attention to the healthy growth of pets, and the increase in per capita disposable income has also increased consumers’ willingness to pay for the health of pets. Thus, balanced nutrition and well-known brands will become new consumption trends for pet food. In addition, with the rapid development of domestic e-commerce channels and the increase in demand for pet products, many domestic brands have shifted from the foundry model to the development of domestic independent brands and accelerated the omnichannel layout to seize the domestic market share.

In the long run, the pet industry will continue to reshuffle in the future, domestic brands must make great efforts in quality, research and development, channels and marketing to have a chance to successfully break through the stiff competition in the pet industry.

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