As of 2016, Internet sales account for approximately 9% of the $48 billion (€40 billion) US market for pet products—around $4.5 billion (€3.8 billion), according to data published in the brand new report U.S. Pet Market Focus: The Amazon Pet Food and Supplies Shopper, by market research firm Packaged Facts.
Packaged Facts further reveals that pet products are among the fastest-growing online retail categories, with 45% growth over two years in the percentage of adults making pet product purchases online in the past three months. As one might expect, ecommerce retail powerhouse Amazon is leading the way: Amazon sales of pet products reached $2 billion (€1.7 billion) in 2016, up 40% from 2015.
Over the course of three years, Amazon's purchase usage penetration among pet owners has grown 19% to 32%, surpassing Petco's user breadth (25%) and encroaching on PetSmart's (32%). Further, the share of pet owners purchasing from Petco and PetSmart who also purchase from Amazon has likewise grown. At least 36% of Petco and PetSmart users now shop at Amazon, a percentage share almost inevitably on the uptick, forecasts Packaged Facts.
Packaged Facts' analysts note that Amazon is capitalizing on a critical growth trend in the US pet market, and has the potential to become an even more formidable presence in the ecommerce pet market segment than it already is.
"The fact is online sales of pet products are at a tipping point," says David Sprinkle, research director, Packaged Facts. "For all players – brick-and-mortar, multi-channel, and online-only alike – the good news is that the market itself continues to grow. However, the sheer size of the Amazon user base, coupled with its aggressive growth, huge Amazon Prime membership base, burgeoning ability to meet any and every product need within that category, and an Amazon Prime value proposition that is very hard to beat make Amazon both very threatening and very intriguing."
