Durable pet product trends in the US

Which pet products are hot in the US? Here is a quick update on sales trends!

Dogs and cats as winners

Packaged Facts estimates that US retail sales of durable pet care products for dogs and cats totalled $5.2 billion (€4.5 billion) in 2017, equating to roughly one-tenth of all pet product sales in the US.

Among the dog and cat durables categories, toys is the largest: accounting for 30% of sales in 2017, or nearly $1.6 billion (€1.4 billion). In fact, toys are the most widely purchased pet durable: on a 12-month basis, 59% of dog owners and 48% of cat owners purchased toys for their pets. Only dog collars, harnesses and leashes score similarly high purchasing rates, with 45% of dog owners buying one every year.

Not surprisingly, collars, harnesses and leashes rank second in pet durable sales: at 20% of the overall pet durables market, or just over $1 billion (€0.86 billion) in sales. Next in the sales ranking are pet beds at 13% and carriers, crates and housing at 12%. The remaining three pet durables categories – bowls, waterers and feeders, apparel and fashion accessories, and litter boxes and accessories –each account for single-digit percentage shares of the overall pet durables market.

As in the overall pet market, dogs account for the bulk of pet durables sales: at 69% in 2017, compared with 31% for cats. Dog products lead across all categories – except for cat-exclusive litter boxes and accessories – with shares in sales ranging from 55% for pet bowls, feeders and waterers, to 95% of sales for pet apparel and fashion accessories.
Kennels, carriers and crates are among the most expensive pet durables, with an average price of $70 (€60) per item. Product assortment – as well as prices – are being challenged by online sales, which now account for over 20% of retail sales in the pet durables market. This, despite the ready availability of pet products at a wide range of specialty and mass-market retail stores.

In the second tier of pet durable categories by price, are beds, litter boxes and collars, leashes and harnesses. For toys, prices vary widely but average in the single digits.