Pet prices reached record highs in July with total petflation easing to 3.0% year-over-year, down from 3.2% in June, driven by increases in pet food and supplies while veterinary costs fell slightly. Despite monthly slowdowns, pet prices remain 27.7% above 2021 levels and are near record highs, with pet owners expected to shift toward cheaper options and online shopping.
- Pet prices rose 0.3% in July compared to June, with pet food up 0.5% and supplies up 0.8%
- Petflation eased to 3.0% year-over-year in July from 3.2% in June, mirroring broader national CPI slowdown
- Pet prices are now 27.7% above 2021 levels and 32.2% higher than December 2019 pre-pandemic baseline
- Pet owners are expected to trade down to cheaper pet food options and increase online shopping and private-label product purchases
- Year-to-date pet inflation stands at 3.5%, down 65% from its 2022-23 peak but up 67% from the same period last year
Total pet prices rose 0.3% in July compared with June, driven by increases in pet food and supplies, according to John Gibbons, president of Pet Business Professor, who tracks monthly U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data for the pet industry. Pet food prices rose 0.5% and supplies rose 0.8% for the month, while pet services fell 0.1% and veterinary prices fell 0.2%, Gibbons said in his latest report.
On a year-over-year basis, petflation fell to 3.0% in July from 3.2% in June. Pet food inflation held steady at 1.3% year over year, the same rate as June, Gibbons said.
The slowdown in petflation mirrored a broader cooldown in the national Consumer Price Index, which fell to 3.4% year over year in July from 3.5% in June, Gibbons said. Overall prices were essentially flat from June, he said, and grocery prices held steady with inflation stable at 2.7%.
Prices remain near record levels
Despite the monthly slowdown, Gibbons said pet prices, the national CPI and most pet segments have been at or near record highs since March. He said pet prices are now 27.7% above 2021 levels and 32.2% higher than in December 2019, the pre-pandemic baseline his report uses for comparison. Only the pet supplies segment remains further from that mark, up 13.3% since 2019 compared with increases of more than 24% in other pet categories, he said.
Gibbons said the current 3.0% petflation rate is 15.4% above where it stood a year earlier, but 11.8% below the national CPI and slightly below the average July rate of 3.1% recorded since 1997.
Year-to-date figures show mixed trends
Looking at year-to-date figures, Gibbons said total pet inflation stands at 3.5%, up 67% from the same period last year but down 65% from its 2022-23 peak. Year-to-date pet food inflation is 1.7%, unchanged from June but down slightly from 1.8% in May, he said.
Gas prices remain up 33.2% since February, Gibbons noted, a factor he said can influence discretionary pet spending even when pet-specific inflation eases.
"Pet owners will simply pay more for veterinary care and services," concluded Gibbons. "But the reaction in pet food and supplies will be more complex. Because supplies are more of a discretionary purchase, we'll likely see people buying them less often. In pet food, since it's a necessity, some pet owners may trade down to cheaper options.
"But the biggest shift in both categories will be a strong move toward online shopping and private-label products," added Gibbons. "We saw evidence of that at both the Global Pet Expo and SuperZoo in 2025, with a huge number of exhibitors offering private-label manufacturing services, and that trend continued at both shows in 2026. Strong, cumulative inflation has a widespread impact across the industry."
Data sourced from the latest Petflation report by John Gibbons at PetBusinessProfessor.com, tracking Consumer Price Index data for pet industry segments compared to national inflation trends.
