Woof Woof
Dog folks, this one is for you!
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SOURCES
Raining Cats and Dogs – Meaning, Origin & Usage
https://www.avma.org/resources-tools/reports-statistics/us-pet-ownership-statistics
https://americanpetproducts.org/industry-trends-and-stats?.com
https://murrowcourses.com/graphics/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/FINAL_AVMA_PetDemographics102218-compressed.pdf
Industry Data
https://www.statista.com/forecasts/1081150/top-online-stores-pet-supplies-united-states-ecommercedb/
https://www.mintel.com/insights/household/pets/
https://www.petfoodprocessing.net/articles/19810-state-of-us-pet-food-treat-industry-in-2025
https://www.forbes.com/advisor/pet-insurance/pet-ownership-statistics/#sources_section
https://www.farmkeep.com/farm-guides/livestock/how-much-does-a-goat-cost
The Marketing Gateway is a weekly podcast hosted by Sean in St. Louis (Sean J. Jordan, President of https://www.researchplan.com/) and featuring guests from the St. Louis area and beyond.
Every week, Sean shares insights about the world of marketing and speaks to people who are working in various marketing roles – creative agencies, brand managers, MarCom professionals, PR pros, business owners, academics, entrepreneurs, researchers and more!
The goal of The Marketing Gateway is simple – we want to build a connection between all of our marketing mentors in the Midwest and learn from one another! And the best way to learn is to listen.
And the next best way is to share!
For more episodes: https://www.themarketinggateway.com
Copyright 2025, The Research & Planning Group, Inc.
TRANSCRIPT:
So it’s raining all week here in St. Louis, and that’s got me thinking about one of those truly important topics in marketing that impact us all.
Umbrellas? Nope
Sealed basements? No way.
Gutters? I’m trying to keep my mind out of there, thanks.
This is a family show.
No, I’m talking about what always comes to mind when it’s raining hard – cats and dogs! As in, you know, the idiomatic expression of an uncertain origin that may have originated in the 1600s in England during torrential storms that literally carried cats and dogs down the street, or as a misunderstanding of the French word for waterfall, or an old Norse Viking belief that cats caused storms and dogs kicked up the winds in the service of Odin?
But let’s put that aside for a moment and talk a little bit about the wild world of pet marketing.
And you know, I have some friends who work at Purina and I need to have them on the show one day to talk about the ins and outs of selling pet food, because they are experts.
But we can at least dip our toes in the water today by talking about the big picture – what’s driving the $158 billion market for pet products and where it’s going next.
Today we’ll cover dogs.
Tomorrow cats.
And later on this week, reptiles, aquatic pets and more!
I’m Sean in St. Louis, and this is the Marketing Gateway.
Do you have a dog in your house? Congratulations! According to data from the American Pet Products Association, or the APPA, 71 million American households also have one – and given that there are around 135 million households in America right now, that’s just over half, or around 53%.
Other data from the American Veterinary Medical Association, or AVMA, say it’s just 43% or about 56.3 million, but they estimate there are around 87.3 million dogs in the United States, which means the average for most families is around 1.6 canines per dog-owning household.
You might think it’s older, empty nesters who own dogs because that’s often who you see taking their dogs to the hardware store or farmer’s markets, but the APPA data suggest about two thirds of pet owners come from the Generation X and Millennial cohorts, which suggests, as I think most people already assumed, that pets are most likely to show up in homes where children are still living or were recently living.
Gen Z is the target market for new pet owners, and Boomers are the group who are leaving pets behind as they get older.
Pet spending started accelerating during the pandemic years and has gone up nearly 75% since 2018 in non-adjusted dollars and about 31% if you account for inflation.
Pet ownership itself has also increased during that time.
According to an AVMA report from 2018, only 38% of households owned a dog, which was then the highest number they’d recorded.
We all know that pet ownership, particularly dog ownership, increased during COVID because it was widely reported, and the trend data suggest that this growth has continued, though there’s some speculation that with a potential recession on the horizon, things will level off.
Even so, pets need a few things to be happy and healthy.
The most expensive of those is food.
The market for food and treats in America is, according to APPA, around $68 billion with a projected $70 billion this year.
One growth area has been refrigerated wet food sold in chain stores, which is more expensive but which pet owners perceive to be better for their pets.
This market is currently worth $1.6 billion for dogs, but according to data from the industry trade resource Pet Food Processing, it was the only category of food that saw recent growth.
The same data said that store-based purchased make up about $60 billion in purchases, but pet owners are also having about $37 billion worth of pet food shipped to them.
eCommerceDB says a lot of that food is coming from Chewy, which is by far the biggest seller of pet food at $13 billion in net sales, followed by Walmart.com at $2 billion and PetCo.com at $1 billion and then Amazon and PetSmart.com at around $800 million.
I’m not sure where the rest is coming from since those numbers only represent half of the estimated ecommerce sales, but the Pet Food Processing data do tell us that Millennials are the most likely to order their food online.
Another thing you have to think about with pets, particularly dogs, is having leashes, toys, crates and remedies onhand.
Supplies, over the counter medicine and other pet-related spending are generating around $34 billion, but projected to rise to $35.6 billion this year.
Vet care and veterinary products, estimated around $41 billion, may grow to around $42.5 billion this year, and AVMA says this is around $600 a year in veterinary care spending per household per year.
That’s part of the total cost of owning a dog, by the way, which a Forbes Advisor report estimates is close to $1500 annually.
That’s far more expensive than a kid, by the way. By which I mean a baby goat, which can cost you just $500-1,200 per year to raise and feed, plus you get a free composter and lawn mower in the process.
Think about it!
Other services, which includes grooming, pet sitting, dog walking and insurance, are estimated at $14 billion, but projected to grow to almost $15 billion this year.
And research from the North American Pet Health Insurance Association, or NAPHIA, says that the number of insured pets has jumped from 6.25 million in 2023 to 7.93 million in 2025, with dog owners being far more likely than cat owners to consider insurance because, well, dogs are more likely to need it.
OK, so we can see now that not only is there a major market for selling things to pet owners, but that somewhere between 42-53% of households are going to need a lot of the things we just covered.
But before you rush out to start a wet or frozen dog food business or set up your own pet insurance plan, let’s remember that even as things are growing, this is a fairly mature market where some of the increase in spending is due to rising costs.
So let’s instead look at some of the ways in which dog owners may need to be served which are still fairly underserved.
One of those is weight loss.
Dog food makers are notoriously opaque about what ingredients go into dog food and it’s very difficult for the average dog owner to know what is appropriate to feed their pets for a healthy diet.
This is why veterinarians offer special, very expensive pet food – they control the quality and can ensure that they’re giving the dogs the nutrients they might not get from cheaper grocery store or big box store brands.
Treats and table scraps are also unhealthy for dogs most of the time, and many of the traditional things people like to give dogs to keep them busy – rawhide, bones and chew toys – can also be dangerous for a pet since they’re choking hazards or can create stomach blockages.
But Milk Bones and Beggin’ Strips and other treats are also more calorically dense and aren’t healthy for dogs in large quantities.
Pet owners often have a poor understanding of what quantities are healthy because they’re not receiving education on the topic.
Overweight dogs, like overweight humans, have many health risks and require both a reduction in calories and an increase in exercise to combat obesity.
But pet owners often feel guilty about shrinking portions or giving dogs food they don’t enjoy as much, and a lot of the weight loss branded foods also come in smaller quantities, making them more expensive.
So, there’s an opportunity for dog-adjacent businesses to coach consumers on proper care and feeding of their pups by offering opportunities for dogs and their humans to play together and to learn about proper exercise and nutrition in general terms.
Providing education about how human owners and their dogs can live more fit, active lifestyles might also help the 40% of Americans who are classified as obese to develop a stronger connection to their pet.
This could also be a program offered through community dog parks, off-the-leash facilities or dog-friendly spaces, and dog yoga classes or other exercise programs – and yes, dog yoga is a thing! – could complement this approach.
Another opportunity for homeowners is to reduce the smells associated with having dogs.
There’s no shortage of products claiming to treat household pet smells, but if you don’t own pets and you walk into a dog owner’s home, you’ll notice the odor right away.
It’s unmistakable.
A Mintel study from 2018 says that in the US, pet odor motivates 36% of people to buy Aircare products, which is a term used for candles, air purifiers, air fresheners, sprays and other products used to make the air smell better when guests are over.
Unfortunately, these are not regulated well and can be quite dangerous for dogs.
They also are questionably effective if they’re not treating some of the allergens associated with dogs such as dander and hair.
Many consumers are also sensitive to strong smells and chemical odors, which mean that these products may actually make their homes less inviting, like a strong perfume smell covering bad body odor.
There’s definitely opportunity for marketers to find ways to promote better Aircare for pet owners.
I expect we’ll see interest in this rise along with pet adoption numbers.
A third opportunity is, admittedly, a little silly, but I found some research to support it! Yet another Mintel study from the UK in 2018 highlights the potential for animal-friendly beverages that can be served to dogs if you want to share a beer with your pet.
These drinks are specifically made for canine tastes and do contain digestive aids and calming ingredients and, crucially, don’t contain alcohol, though a cat-branded alternative does include catnip.
While this sounds absolutely silly, these are real products that are being marketed under names like Snuffle, Bottom Sniffer and Woof & Brew’s Pawsecco.
They’re not widely available and they reek of stunt marketing, but they are a real thing.
People also love to buy products related to their pets, but unless you have a breed standard dog, it’s often hard to find one that looks exactly like your pet.
This is where modern technologies like generative AI and both 2D and 3D printing could offer something really new and interesting – custom-made print on demand pet merchandise based on photos of your pet and which can be made into all sorts of different products, from displayable figurines to custom dog bowls to calendars featuring your dog doing your favorite activities.
Two more ideas for opportunities in pet marketing are less about selling things and more about offering people the chance to interact with their pets in public spaces.
Some retail chains have experimented with letting people bring their dogs inside because they don’t want people to leave them in the car – I’ve seen pets encouraged at stores like Rural King, Lowe’s and Home Depot locally, and of course most pet stores allow them.
Of course, this can be a health code violation in retail stores that serve food and a nightmare if someone brings in a dog who’s not properly trained, but this is a way to entice pet owners to feel welcome and more relaxed in a store since pets are a natural opener for conversations!
Another tactic that you often see in pedestrian areas that allow it is outdoor restaurant dining where dogs are permitted to sit under tables or beside chairs.
Again, this can be a health code risk depending on local laws and also requires that the dogs be sufficiently well-trained for the experience – no one wants to get barked at or bitten while they’re trying to grab a bite! – but it can entice customers who otherwise would not come to a restaurant to sit and stay awhile and also helps restaurants that aren’t chains to stand out.
I personally feel that these options are kind of wimpy the way they tend to be utilized and often are offered as a perk rather than a distinctive quality of shopping.
Pet stores play it up a little bit better than the other locations do, but having taken my dogs to public places back when I still had them, I could see that just as many people were amazed as annoyed by the experience of seeing me there with my pets.
So here’s a high concept: a destination hotel that’s not just dog-friendly, but legitimately built for humans and their pets to be together, complete with play areas and relief areas for the dogs, places for the humans to sit or shop while their dogs enjoy some off-the-leash play under the supervision of staff, and perhaps other family amenities as well for kids and families to enjoy while their dogs are having a good time.
This concept would solve one of the biggest problems that many dog owners have – trying to figure out what to do with their dogs when they’re traveling and having to either board their dogs in confined crates, hire a pet sitter or take them to an expensive off the leash facility.
A destination designed for families to bring their dogs and which also has trained staff onsite who know how to deal with them would be a great way to capitalize on the Millennial, Gen X and Gen Z families who are increasingly inviting dogs into their homes, and it would also allow the hotel to charge a premium for the service since it would still save those families money on having to find other solutions for pet care.
Plus, happy, active well-socialized dogs bark less and sleep longer, which would be a very nice way to get them to rest when the humans are off doing human things!
Tomorrow, we’re going to talk about cats, which are what I’ve taken in since the last of my dogs passed away.
And yes, there are so many opportunities for cats as well!
I’m Sean in St. Louis, and this has been The Marketing Gateway.
See ya next time!
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