Spain vs. Portugal: Pet spending and consumer behavior trends

According to a study published by the Spanish Pet Industry Association (AEDPAC) conducted by Hamilton Global Intelligence, having children later in life and smaller households may be driving a rise in pet humanization in Spain and Portugal.

The report, presented during the Iberzoo Propet 2025 in Madrid, concludes that 52% of Spanish households own at least 1 pet, up from 49% last year. In Portugal, 58% of households own a pet.

Single-person households comprise 28% of homes in Spain and 25% in Portugal, up from 13% and 14% in 1991. Couples with no children also make up a slightly higher proportion of the population, which the AEDPAC report suggests may drive the rise in pet parents.

The survey was conducted among 709 Spanish and 704 Portuguese pet owners between 18 and 65.

Expenditure

Measured by pet spending, Spanish consumers spend more on average than their Portuguese counterparts. For dogs, Spanish owners spend €159 ($172) per month, while the Portuguese spend €143 per month ($154). Cat owners in Spain spend €144 per month ($155); in Portugal, they spend €109 per month ($118).

The report concludes that around 40% of monthly expenditures in both countries go to food. Spanish pet parents reportedly spend an average of €66 ($61) on pet food, while Portuguese pet parents spent €53 ($49).

While humanization trends may contribute to this spending difference, it’s worth noting that the cost of living is generally lower in Portugal than in Spain.

Purchasing decisions

According to the AEDPAC report, Portuguese consumers were much less likely than Spaniards to invest in technology for their pet care needs, including automatic feeders, GPS tracking and surveillance systems.

The report concludes that 3 out of 10 pet owners in Spain don’t use tech gadgets for their pets, an amount that increases to 5 out of 10 among Portuguese pet parents.

In both countries, most say their vet strongly influences pet food purchases. Spaniards were more likely than the Portuguese to consider advice from specialty stores. Portuguese shoppers are more likely to look for a deal on food than Spaniards, who are more inclined to look for specific health formulas than their neighbors to the west.

Portuguese respondents remain more loyal to brick-and-mortar retail. 48.1% say they only buy in-store, compared to 38.6% of respondents in Spain.

Pet-friendly cities

61% of Spanish respondents say they have difficulty bringing their pets on public transport, while just 31% of Portuguese people agree.

Nearly 6 out of 10 (57.4%) Spanish pet parents say there are not enough pet-friendly spaces. The Portuguese appear to be more satisfied – just 27.5% agree.

These numbers are reflected in the proportions of people in the 2 countries who expect a more pet-friendly world.

Humanization

In both countries, large numbers of people consider their pets as family members. In Spain, 85.9% agree, while 79.2% in Portugal feel the same. The stance of the Spanish has increased from AEDPAC’s previous report in 2024.

The report illustrates pet humanization further with an unorthodox metric: How often people include pets in family photos. Spain’s humanization tendency was higher by this measure as well. 40.2% say they always include their pet in family photos, while in Portugal, just 25.6% did.

Spanish pet owners are much more likely to take their pets with them when they leave home – only 19% say their pets mostly stay at home or around the neighborhood, compared to 40% of Portuguese respondents who say the same.