Following today’s news that Pets at Home is forecasting record sales;

Ryan Whittaker, Consumer Analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers his view:

“Pets at Home has benefitted from the ‘pet-mad’ period of COVID-19 lockdowns that saw a rise in pet ownership. In a survey by GlobalData, almost a third (32%) of UK consumers bought or adopted a new pet in 2021, with most of those in Q4. Further, an overwhelming majority (86%)* of UK pet owners said that they were spending medium-to-high amounts on products for their pets. Given these kinds of figures, it is not surprising that Pets at Home has reported a record year of sales and profit growth.

“New ways of working—such as the increase in remote working—will have also had knock-on and lasting effects on pet ownership and spending.

“The increase in lockdown pets has had a significant impact on fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) categories and retail. As consumers are willing to spend to keep their fuzzy family members safe, healthy and engaged, we can expect formerly niche pet care categories such as raw food to increase in popularity, as well as services such as dog walking and grooming.”

Data is taken from GlobalData’s 2021 Q4 Consumer Survey, December 2021

* Combining answers: “High – I buy high-end/premium versions of these products”, “High – I buy large portions/buy more frequently” and “Medium”