Pet owners more likely to cut personal food and healthcare costs before pet expenses according to a recent survey

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MarketPlace, a St. Louis-based brand strategy firm, announced the results of a survey on U.S. pet supplement shoppers. According to the survey, pet supplement shoppers are more likely to cut spending on their own needs such as food, healthcare, housing, and insurance before they would cut pet-related expenses.

“Many pet parents consider their pets family, and these relationships influence their purchase behaviors and priorities,” said Nicole Hill, executive director of strategy at MarketPlace, in a press release. “Pet supplement shoppers tend to be early adopters who also prioritize pet related expenses. Brands that successfully build relationships with these pet parents serve the audience’s functional needs and share in their personal values.”

Only 3% of pet supplement shoppers said they would cut pet-related expenses when asked what they would cut first to reduce monthly spending. Non-essential expenses were most likely to be cut, such as entertainment (64%) and apparel (38%), but 19% said they would cut their own food expenses, 8% said they would cut transportation costs, and 5% said they would reduce spending on healthcare.

In examining the attitudes and behavioral trends of purchasing pet supplements, MarketPlace learned that pet owners first look for the condition-specific benefits of a product, then consider the price and brand of the product they are purchasing. When looking for information, over one-third said they used the internet to do research. Another one-third sought pet health information from friends and family. MarketPlace also found that attributes on products such as “vet recommended,” clinically proven,” and “all natural” inspired confidence in purchasing a pet supplement.