Christmas presents for pets on the rise

The most popular product group is dog sweaters, with an 80% sales increase compared to last year, following the ‘ugly Christmas sweater’ trend for humans.

Other noteworthy and popular products include: animal-friendly ‘fries’ and alcohol free Belgian craft beer.

But it’s not only dogs that are being spoiled. Rabbits and other rodents also get to participate in the festivities. Christmas trees for rodents and other snacks have seen an 80% sales increase so far.

Over the past few years, Christmas presents for pets have been on the rise.

“Because we expected demand to pick up, we stocked 6 times as much as last year. We’ve already seen a massive increase in demand. And the busiest days are still ahead of us,” said Ard Malenstein, CEO of Ijsvogel Retail, parent company of Pets Place.  

Giving back

Last year, Pets Place started with a campaign to donate pet food to different pet food banks in the Netherlands. Consumers posted a Christmas picture of their pet on social media. In return, Pets Place donated a kilo of pet food.

“We saw pictures of horses, pigeons with bow ties, cats with Christmas hats, and a lot of dogs with Christmas sweaters.” said Ard Malenstein. 

With more than 4000 people participating last year, the retailer is running the campaign again this Christmas.