"We're actually going to be seeing a slowdown in 2024."
U.S. pet owners spent approximately US$147 billion in 2023 on pet food, treats and other products. Ingrid Chu, vice president of research and insights for the American Pet Products Association (APPA) revealed that information and other data during her Global Pet Expo 2024 presentation on March 21 in Orlando, Florida, USA.
“That is actually only a 2.7% growth over last year, which isn't huge,” Chu said. “It's, to some, a little disappointing.”
What’s more the increase in sales value was driven largely by inflation, not necessarily more sales of pet products.
“We're actually going to be seeing a slowdown in 2024,” she said. “But we did forecast that this industry will continue to grow and continue to be strong.”
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Nevertheless, growth in the food, treat and other pet care markets seems likely to continue, she said. From 2009 to 2019, the pet care market grew at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5%. That rate tripled from 2022-2024 with U.S. pet care spending forecast to reach US$151 billion in 2024. Looking further into the future, pet spending may reach US$251 billion by 2030.
Pet care spending by market segment
Of that total US$147 billion in 2023, pet owners spent US$64.4 billion on pet food and treats.
Along with pet food, other major pet care expenditures in 2023 were:
- US$32 billion was spent on supplies, live animals and OTC medicine
- US$38.3 billion was spent on vet care and product sales
- US$12.3 billion was spent on other services (boarding, grooming, insurance, training, pet sitting and walking and all services outside of veterinary care)
While growth in pet food and other products may have disappointed some, pet care performed above the average in the fast-moving consumer goods category, including human foods, baby care, alcohol and beauty care she said. That continues a long-term trend that started even before the dramatic boost caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. From Jan. 20 to Feb. 20, 2024, pet care sales grew 4% compared to a decline of 1% in the fast-moving consumer goods category overall. Compared to 2019 figures, pet care sales grew 39% from Jan. 20 to Feb. 20, while the fast-moving consumer goods category grew an average 25%
Although pet care sales grew less than in previous years, analysts nevertheless forecast pet care to continue growing in the coming decade and outpace other segments of the fast-moving consumer goods category.
Chu referred to data from the APPA Strategic Insights from the National Pet Owners Survey 2024, which included 10,156 pet owners in the United States.
