Pet
Unlock insights with the Full View™ of the pet market
The industry continues to see increased humanization of pets and higher overall spend on wellness-focused premium products. Now more than ever, it’s important to have a clear line of sight into critical insights to remain competitive across this growing industry.
NIQ delivers critical insights with industry-leading pet coverage backed by our trusted measurement and panel data. Our robust suite of solutions and unmatched coverage of the total pet industry deliver the Full View™ and meet the needs of retailers, manufacturers, emerging brands, and pet industry associations. We enable businesses of all types and sizes to unlock your full potential and remain competitive by fuelling improved decision-making.
With NIQ’s unmatched pet industry data, you can:
- Correctly size market opportunities by harnessing the power of the most trusted and comprehensive data with an advanced, cloud-based data management, analytics, and visualization platform.
- Understand consumer intent by capturing pet consumer purchases across online and offline channels for a complete view of changing omnichannel behaviors.
- Maximize product discoverability enable product ideation, and drive marketing optimization through our suite of solutions that utilizes attribution data to determine pet trends and growth opportunities.
- Innovate your product assortment bridge the innovation gap, and maximize your return by understanding the intent behind pet consumer sentiment.
A snapshot of the pet industry in the U.S.
Press Release
NielsenIQ unveils total US Pet Channel Plus: A game-changer for pet retail insights
Commentary
How are consumers prioritizing their pets during a time of tighter budgets?
Featured Product
Retail Measurement Services (RMS)
Trust your performance and trend data in retail and e-tail markets with comprehensive CPG market measurement solutions.
Featured Product
Omnichannel Commerce
Track product, category, brand, retailer, and competitor market performance with precise item-level data.
Meet the team
Yemi Owolewa
NIQ Pet Vertical lead
Yemi Owolewa
NIQ Pet Vertical lead
Yemi Owolewa is the leader of NIQ’s Pet Vertical, raising the bar on Pet industry impact and engagement. He has extensive experience in growth strategy and continuous improvement from roles at NIQ, Procter & Gamble, The Boston Consulting Group, AB InBev and Elanco Animal Health. He has a passion for Animal Welfare & Adoption. Yemi earned degrees in Economics and Business Administration from Harvard College and Harvard Business School. He lives in Chicago with his wife and three senior dogs.
Andrea Binder
Vice President, Retail Account Development
Vice President, Retail Account Development
Andrea has been with NielsenIQ for 11 years, supporting varied retailers. With expertise in tracking market shifts and product innovation, she aids clients in understanding the dynamic retail landscape and evolving consumer behavior.
Sam Smith
Associate Client Director
Associate Client Director
Sam has been with NielsenIQ for 8 years, supporting CPG manufacturers across a wide variety of industries and retail channels. He utilizes data from Scan RMS, Panel, and E-Commerce to provide comprehensive trend analysis and build industry leading thought leadership.
NIQ’s Product Finder
Explore our Innovative product offerings to unlock the Full View™
Frequently Asked Questions
- How is pet owner spending contributing to pet industry growth?
Pet owner spending continues to rise, making increased value per buyer a major contributor to pet industry growth. Average annual spend has grown across dog and cat households, supported by premiumization, wellness-driven diets, and expanded treatment and accessory purchases. Even as inflation pressure moderates in other categories, pet owners remain willing to invest in perceived quality, nutrition, and health benefits for their pets. This emotional connection helps insulate the pet industry from broader consumer spend volatility and reinforces long-term growth potential. Understanding spending dynamics by pet type allows companies to target opportunities that further accelerate pet industry growth.
- How are premium and wellness trends shaping pet industry growth?
Premiumization is a defining force behind pet industry growth, particularly in food and nutrition. Fresh, frozen, freeze‑dried, and functional wellness diets are delivering outsized dollar and unit growth as pet owners increasingly view pets as family members. These products command higher price points but succeed because they align with consumer priorities around quality, ingredients, and health outcomes. Even amid inflation, premium segments continue to expand, indicating that wellness-led innovation remains a resilient growth lever within the pet industry.
- What does innovation performance reveal about pet industry growth?
While the number of new product launches in the pet industry has declined since 2020, the average dollar performance per new item has increased significantly. This suggests that innovation is becoming more focused, premium, and intentional. Food innovations in particular drive disproportionate sales compared to supplies, reinforcing food as a core engine of pet industry growth. Companies that prioritize fewer, higher-quality launches aligned to wellness, premium, and functional needs are better positioned to capture growth without overwhelming shoppers or retail partners.
- How are pricing dynamics influencing pet industry growth?
Pet care has experienced some of the highest unit price inflation across retail, yet demand has remained resilient. This reflects the combination of emotional attachment, necessity-driven purchasing, and perceived value among pet owners. However, recent data indicates unit consumption improvements as inflation pressure eases, suggesting a stabilizing environment for future pet industry growth. Leaders must balance pricing strategy with pack sizes, promotions, and value communication to sustain growth without eroding loyalty.
- What role do private label and branded products play in pet industry growth?
Pet industry growth is being shaped by a nuanced balance between private label and branded products. While private label has gained share in volume—particularly among value-seeking households—branded products continue to dominate dollar sales and premium segments. Most shoppers buy both branded and private label products, indicating switching behavior driven by need state rather than strict loyalty. This dynamic creates opportunities for both sides to grow, with brand strength, innovation, and price positioning determining share of future pet industry growth.
- Which demographics are driving pet industry growth?
Pet industry growth is being propelled by younger households, higher-income consumers, and multi-pet owners. Younger generations show rising brand equity and stronger engagement with premium, sustainable, and wellness offerings, while higher-income households drive outsized wallet growth. Multi-pet households also over‑index on spend and sustainability interest, reinforcing their importance as a growth cohort. These demographic shifts help sustain long-term pet industry growth beyond simple pet ownership expansion.