Millennials as pet market consumers

Packaged Fact's new report highlights how the essential economic optimism of millennials augurs well for the pet industry. The millennial generation has become a driving force in the American pet industry. Between 2007 and 2015, millennials were responsible for 43 per cent of the growth in the number of pet owners in the United States.
The 43 million pet owners in the 18- to 34-year-old age group now account for around one in three pet owners. Moreover, millennial pet owners bring significant buying power to the table. In 2014 households headed by millennial consumers spent a total of $10.6 billion on their pets. This report shows why millennial consumers will play an even more significant role in the pet industry over the next decade.
The accelerating aging of the American population threatens to shift the consumer landscape for the pet industry because pet ownership has traditionally declined precipitously after the age of 60.  In addition, the population of 40- to 54-year-olds - an age segment with a relatively high propensity to own and spend money on pets - Is expected to decline.
Millennials will account for an ever-growing share of pet expenditure in the years ahead because they represent a large population cohort that will be entering a stage of life when expenditure on pet products and services jumps dramatically.