Compared to 2011, internet retailing grew with one percent to 4% of value sales in the global pet food market in 2016. The growth of internet retailing is partially attributed to the increasing use of smartphones worldwide, both in developed and in emerging economies. More than one billion smartphones were sold globally during 2014 and 2015. Another cause of increasing internet retail results is the premiumisation of pet food and the usage of practical packaging options for pet food. Economic situations, furthermore, move pet owners to search the internet for best price bargains.
This positive development is especially visible in the Asia Pacific region. In the internet retailing in the global pet food market, South Korea certainly takes the lead with internet retailing accounting for 30% of value sales of pet food in 2016. This result is exceptionally high as other pet food markets account for no more than 10% of value sales. Today, the East Asian market functions as the heart of pet food internet retailing. Japan and China account for respectively 10 and 9 percent of value sales in 2016.
In China, the number of households with internet access increased dramatically to 50% in the period between 2010 and 2015. According to Euromonitor, the internet retailing of pet food in China has been powered by the undeveloped state of bricks-and-mortar retail infrastructure in some parts of the country. At the same time, local e-commerce giants like Alibaba Group Holding provide virtual storefronts for a host of retailers, as well as a nationwide logistics network.
Source
Euromonitor
