COVID-19 pandemic has affected all sectors of human life. Social distancing, stay-at-home orders, schools, and office closures have resulted in all-new patterns of living. In the lockdown protocols of COVID-19 business industries all over the world suffer major setbacks. It has created both unprecedented challenges and opportunities for the cat care market players. Pre-COVID-19 forecast of the cat care market pegged at 5%-6% growth in 2020, which is estimated to suffer a drop of 2.5%-3%. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all four sectors of the cat products industry, including cat food, non-food supplies, veterinary services, and non-medical services.
2 Major Impact of COVID-19 on Cat Products Market
Since there’s no evidence yet that cats contribute to the spread of COVID-19, families, and individuals feel safe turning to companion animals for mental and emotional support during this time. Families that have kids at home due to school closures and the disruption of public sports, recreation, and entertainment events are more likely to adopt a pet. While 8 percent of pet owners overall have adopted a cat because of the pandemic, that rate notches up to 12 percent among those with children under age 18 at home.
These factor robust sales of cat products during the time of the pandemic. First, there was an uptick in cat adoption, which “swelled into a surge of pet acquisition.” This generated a “sales boom” for higher-ticket pet durables like habitats, carriers, bedding, along with side novelty and pampering purchases like pet toys and accessories.
Panic buying and stockpiling practices during the initial phase of COVID-19 have rapidly emptied the shelves of cat care products, which prevented a pointy decline within the market revenue. However, a large number of cat care services that are not deemed ‘essential’ came to standstill, due to the domino effect of nationwide lockdown.
Cat Food Products
The global cat food market reached a value of US$ 32.4 Billion in 2019. The early stages of the pandemic saw a rise in sales of cat food. Dry Cat food, Wet Cat Food, and Cat Treats are three types of cat food products available in the market. The owners tend to prefer dry food made from animal derivatives worldwide as it is cheaper and rich in nutrients than the others.
Shopping Habits
The other paradigm shift that was witnessed during the Covid-19, that users tend to buy from online stores rather than from markets or supermarkets. The havoc of pandemic and lockdown protocols make people stay at their homes, created a window for online shopping. Brands all over the world are providing e facilities to their customers. As of 2019 pet food market has a share of US$ 29 Billion.
The pundits expected it to grow between 4 to 6 pc in 2020. Taking the effect of COVID-19 into account this an encouraging growth. The reason behind the stability of pet products is due to the friendly nature of millennials and generation X towards pets. US campaign of “pets as family” is helped thrive the pet business.
Lisa is a passionate travelers. She spends 3 months every year visiting different places worldwide. She has visited almost every famous place in the world. She herself is an affiliate blogger
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