Online pet food shopping trends around the world

Why do consumers buy pet food online? Which types of delivery services most appeal to them? And how do preferences vary between Europe, North America and South America?

How is the digital transformation affecting pet food buying habits across the globe? A survey by Explorer, the Yummypets market research platform, gathered data from pet parents in the UK, France, Brazil and North America in late 2023, which helps us to form a picture.

Reasons to go online

Among the respondents, there was a more or less an even split between dog owners and cat owners, except for in Brazil (63% cat parents vs 37% dog parents). We’ve analyzed the survey’s findings to identify the similarities and differences in consumer behavior in the various regions.

On average, US pet owners said they shopped online for pet food as it saved them a trip to the store (65%), ultimately saving them time (55%) and helping them find better prices (56%). Similar to US pet parents, 61% of Canadian respondents said they mainly chose to buy pet food online as it saved them a trip to the store, while for 54% it was a time-saver and almost half (49%) believed they found better prices online.

The outlook of British pet parents was not so different, with 58% saying it saved them a trip to the store. Interestingly, better prices online (58%) ranked considerably higher for them than saving time (44%). Likewise, better prices were a much stronger reason for buying pet food via the internet for Brazilian consumers (73%) and French consumers (60%) than time savings (57% and 47%, respectively).

Opinions differed on whether websites offered a greater choice of products. In the US, UK, France and Brazil, roughly 4 in 10 pet parents stated this as a reason for buying pet food online. In Canada, however, only 29% thought there were more products available online.

It is a commonly held belief in e-commerce that speed of delivery matters. This seems to hold true to some extent in Brazil (49%), US (45%), UK (44%) and Canada, where around 4 out of 10 pet parents bought online because of fast delivery. In France, however, quick delivery was less of a reason for pet parents to buy online (36%).

Specialized vs general retail platforms

Specialized purchasing platforms or websites, such as pet shops or vet clinics, were by far most popular among pet parents in Brazil (89%) and France (more than 80%). Fewer respondents opted for general platforms like Amazon (36% in Brazil, 22% in France), and supermarket websites hardly featured (22% in Brazil and just 13% in France).

In the UK, the figures were a little less extreme, although more respondents still chose specialized platforms as their main go-to websites for buying pet food (70%), with 54% choosing general platforms like Amazon and 39% opting for supermarket websites.

Specialized platforms were out in front in the US too, with 63% of the respondents mainly relying on them, while 54% used a general platform such as Amazon, and 41% went to supermarket websites such as Walmart and Target.

In a departure from the clear trend seen in other countries, Canadian pet parents were more evenly split with 50% opting for specialized pet platforms and 50% shopping for pet food on general websites like Amazon. However, grocery retailers in Canada are lagging behind their US peers, with only 23% of respondents saying they used supermarket websites to buy pet food.

Home deliveries reign supreme

Home delivery and pick-up services stood out strongly as the most popular service, with more than 9 out of 10 pet parents in all 5 countries choosing these as their preferred pet food delivery methods. Drive-thru or click & collect services achieved the highest second-place rankings in the US and Canada.

Interestingly, in those 2 countries, more dog owners than cat owners chose this option (23% dog owners vs 16% cat owners in the US, and 18% dog owners vs 13% cat owners in Canada). In France, Brazil and the UK, drive-thru or click & collect services were more popular among cat owners, although they were not chosen by more than 15% of cat parents in each case.

Graph for where did dog and cat owners buy the most pet food online in 2023?

Local players dominate

Zooplus was the only specialized retail platform that ranked highly in more than 1 surveyed country (UK and France). Zooplus was followed by Maxi Zoo and Zoomalia in France, whereas the favorite specialized platform in the UK was Pets at Home.

Out of all the retailers mentioned, Chewy, PetSmart and Petco were the top 3 choices for both dog and cat parents in the US. In Canada, the most popular specialized websites were PetSmart and Pet Valu. Meanwhile, Petlove and Petz were the most preferred specialized platforms chosen by Brazilian pet parents.

Offer convenience at an attractive price

The survey effectively demonstrates that, across the Western world, pet parents are pressed for time and are opting to shop for pet food through e-commerce channels for 3 main reasons: to avoid a trip to the store, to save time and to save money by finding better deals on products online.

While quick deliveries and a wider product range seem in the ‘nice to have’ column, pet parents are generally more likely to be driven by the desire for convenience and cost-effectiveness.

To appeal to consumers, websites should ideally meet basic need at an attractive price – and preferably deliver the product to the pet parent’s doorstep.

Shruti Khairnar

Associate Business News Editor at GlobalPETS