Internet sales of pet products jumped in one year by 22.5%, giving online merchants the largest share of the U.S. market, according to a new report.
The research firm Packaged Facts also found that pet product sales at mass merchandisers such as Walmart, Target and Meijer rose by 7.8% from 2018 to 2019. Some of the gain came at the expense of pet specialty chains such as PetSmart, Petco and Pet Supplies Plus, which experienced a 4.7% drop in sales.
Overall, sales in all pet product channels totaled an estimated $55 billion in 2019. Online sellers, including PetSmart-owned Chewy, captured $12.25 billion for a 22.4% share. Following closely were pet specialty chains with a 21.7% share and mass merchandisers at 20.8%. Supermarkets, wholesale clubs and other merchants made up the remainder.
Helping mass merchandisers to stay competitive is the availability of superpremium pet foods from makers such as Blue Buffalo. The company’s consumer brands also can be found in supermarkets.
Online merchants should hold the edge for years to come. E-commerce sales of pet products are forecast to hit $17.9 billion by 2024 for a 26% market share.
“The internet is irreversibly transforming the pet product retailing landscape and recasting channel shares,” Packaged Facts stated.
The full report, “U.S. Pet Market Focus: Mass Market Channel Shoppers,” is available for purchase at http://bit.ly/3cLM7Ac.
The source of the estimates and projections came from consumer and pet owner surveys conducted by Simmons Market Research and Packaged Facts, respectively.
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