Category Insights

Pet Care

Profit from pet care. Pet food is in huge growth and offers retailers a great opportunity for sales, but do you have the right range?

During lockdown, pet food has emerged as a leading category for sales as customers choose to shop locally for their essential goods. Make the most of this new customer behaviour by stocking the right range to satisfy your customers’ needs and those of their four-legged friends. According to Nestle Purina, pet food is worth around £3 billion a year in sales, and pet food owners are excellent customers to have.

The right range

If independent retailers want to make the most of this opportunity, it’s essential to get your range right. Check Plan for Profit core range to be sure you have the products your customers most want to buy. The three main reasons a customer chooses a particular store to buy pet food, other than price, are:
- brand
- their ‘usual’ product
- a choice of good, better, best lines such as value, standard and premium options.

Are you offering these?

Go premium

When it comes to buying for their pets, shoppers are looking for high-quality products, with 88% requiring branded pet care. Premium pet food is in growth, so it is really important that your range reflects this. Shoppers will pay more for a premium product, which will drive sales in store.

A whopping 91% of pet food purchases are planned before reaching the shelf and if your customers can’t find the brand they’re looking for, they’ll go elsewhere and take their spend with them. In fact, 52% of convenience store shoppers agree that they’d go elsewhere if their usual product brand wasn’t available. Formats are also changing, with single-serve tins and pouches most in demand. Pricemarked packs are also a great choice, giving customers the confidence that they are getting the products they need at great- value prices.

Dogs

While cans still represent 23% of dog food sales, shoppers are switching to pouches.
Stocking both wet and dry dog food will encourage shoppers to buy both in store.
Treats are now worth £14m so stock a range of dental, special treat and biscuits around your store to drive impulse sales. Consider a clipstrip next to newspapers as well as with pet food.

Cats

Luxury cat food is now worth £136m more than cans.
70% of wet cat food is in pouch format.
Stock a range of singles and 12-packs.
Expand your range of dry cat food to bring in new shoppers.

Pet food is worth £8m per day

52% of shoppers will go elsewhere if their usual brand isn’t available

The average spend of a pet food shopper is £8.30 with an average 3.8 items in their basket, compared to £6.35 and 2.3 items for an average convenience shopper.