Less dog and cat food is sold via promotions, such as discounts and rebates, than other household items in Western economies studied by Information Resources, Inc. (IRI), a market research firm.
In IRI’s report “Price and Promotion in Western Economies,” pet food and pet care items had the lowest volume sold on promotion at 21.2 percent, compared to the highest, alcoholic drinks, with promoted products accounting for 35.9 percent of purchases.
IRI analysts suggested that certain characteristics of the pet food market make buyers less likely to purchase items on promotion. Mainly, since pets develop affinities for particular cat or dog food brands, the animals’ owners are less likely to buy a different food although it is on sale. Also, pet foods are less likely to be impulse items, compared to products like alcoholic beverages.
Scope of the promotional pet food sales research
The sales research was based on data collected in Australia, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, New Zealand, the Netherlands, UK and USA. For most countries, 52 weeks of sales data was collected between August 2015 and August 2016.
Value and volume of pet food sold
Over the year studied by the report, value of pet care products and pet food sales increased by .9 percent on average across the countries studied. That’s higher than the average for food products (.6 percent) or other non-food products (.1 percent).
Prices of pet food and care products increased by .8 percent over the year on average, compared to .6 percent for human foods and a decline of .5 percent for non-foods in general.
Other consumer trends in promotional purchasing
Products not for human consumption, including pet foods, tended to be more promoted than human foods in Europe, whereas the opposite was true in Australia, New Zealand and US markets, according to the report. Pet products promotion slightly increased in Europe compared to the past.
