First PetLens Pulse points to rising cost pressure

The US trade body World Pet Association (WPA) and consultancy BSM Partners have launched PetLens Pulse, a monthly tracking survey of at least 4,000 US pet owners. The first edition, with data up to August, shows pet store chains losing ground: 52% of owners had shopped at chains such as Petco or PetSmart in the previous 30 days, the first reading below the 54 to 57% range recorded since the series began in February. The share of owners who spend most of their pet budget there fell to 27%, from 31% in March. Big box stores and online retailers each stand at 20%, local and independent pet retailers at 5%. Among dog owners, however, primary spend has remained stable, according to the separate dog report; among cat owners, big box stores reached their highest readings so far.

Confidence in being able to afford an unexpected vet bill fell sharply: the index dropped 5.7 points to 96.8, with 100 marking the average of all survey waves to date. At the same time, owners were less likely than in any previous month to cut pet spending before other household expenses.

The results are based on an unweighted, non-representative sample and are intended to show changes over time, the authors state. The first three reports, covering dogs, cats and all species, are available free of charge after registration at petlens.org.