How the Pet Industry is Dealing with Inflation
Pet product inflation continues to be a challenge for the independent pet retailers. Pet owners value the knowledge, experience, and variety of products that they find shopping in independent pet stores, but they also prioritize value when buying for their pets. According to IndiePet research partner, Cleveland Research who is spotlighted in this month’s member newsletter, Value ranks 3rd in a scale of importance to pet owners, only behind Quality and Health & Nutrition (IndiePet April newsletter).
Pet inflation has put more pressure on retailers to offer product promotions to answer the value demands of their customers. According to another IndiePet insights partner, SPINS,
in the past 52 weeks, promotions accounted for 12.7% of total pet sales in the SPINS Pet Channel. While the average retail price (ARP) in the channel increased by 5%, promotional ARP decreased by 14% compared to last year, resulting in greater savings for consumers. Additionally, among the top 10 brands in the SPINS Pet Channel based on raw unit growth, there was an average increase of 3.5 promotional events compared to the previous year. Similarly, the top 10 brands in terms of dollars also increased their number of promotional events by approximately 3 events. The average number of events for all brands in the channel is 0.1, indicating that promotions are proving to be beneficial and effective for revenue growth for brands and retailers in the channel, who participate.
IndiePet, whose mission is to support and strengthen the independent retail pet channel, is helping its member retailers obtain promotions from member pet food manufacturers through its directory listings and notifications through its monthly newsletter. In this critical time of keeping loyal customers coming back to independent stores, retailers can utilize their industry associations to efficiently manage their value offerings.
To access great member-only benefits including data trends and insights for the independent & neighborhood pet channel, we invite you to join IndiePet.
