The pet industry in Australia

Rumor has it that Australia ranks amongst the most popular countries in the world, but how is the pet industry doing Down Under? Let’s find out. 

What is the pet population in Australia?

Based on a national pet population survey, Australia is home to approximately 28.7 million pets distributed among 6.9 million households, outnumbering the human population of 25.8 million.

Dogs still hold the title of the most favored pets, with an impressive 6.4 million, with nearly half of Australian households owning at least 1. Cats are the nation’s second most beloved pets, with a population of 5.3 million. 

A concerning trend came to light in the results of a 2024 survey conducted by the Hospitals Contribution Fund (HCF), Australia’s largest private health insurer.

The data shows a high degree of concern about increasing pet care costs for these Aussie pet parents. 80% of them are feeling the strain of inflation.

The costs of caring for their pets concern 4 out of 5 pet parents. Gen Z (85%) and Baby Boomers (76%) expressed the highest anxiety. 

Pet market size in Australia

According to IBIS World, the pet industry’s market size, measured by revenue, was $3.7 billion (€3.4B) in 2023. The market grew 4.8% per year on average between 2018 and 2023.

Pet parents’ expenditure rose to an estimated A$33.2 billion ($22.8B/€21.3B) in 2022. Food represents 51% of total spending, followed by veterinary services (14%), pet products and accessories (9%) and pet healthcare products (9%). 

The remainder of the total spend is attributable to services such as clipping and grooming (4%), pet insurance (3%), and training, behavior and therapy services (3%).

Australia’s pet retail landscape

AMA’s latest Pets in Australia survey shows that most pet supplies are sold through supermarkets and pet stores. While the supermarket is still the most popular channel for buying pet food, its popularity is declining, from 74% for dog owners 3 years ago to 64% in 2023 and 84% for cat owners to 70%. 

This decline could be because of the rising popularity of online shopping.  

Data released by the ‘buy now pay later’ tool Zip showed a 118% surge in the total transaction value (TTV) for pet purchases in Australia between February 2020 and February 2023. 

According to the same Zip report, popular pet stores like Petstock, Petbarn, and Budget Pet Products witnessed a 180% hike in transacting users.

Pet Circle and Woolworths are other major players of the pet industry in Australia.