In the year 2019 in 2019 percent and thus pets are kept in almost half of all households in Germany. Overall, people in this country lived with 34, 9 million dogs and cats , small mammals and ornamental birds together, an increase of almost a million compared to the previous year.
There were also numerous ornamental fish and terrarium animals. 66 percent of all families with children had a pet and in 13 percent of all households had at least two types of pets.
This is the result of a representative household survey carried out by the market research institute Skopos for IVH and ZZF at the beginning of the second lockdown in autumn 2019 (telephone survey, Base 7. Respondent).
Cat remains the favorite pet of Germans
The cat is still Germany’s number one pet: Overall, live 15,7 million velvet paws in 26 Percent of local households. The proportion of domestic cats is 34 percent. Second follow 03,7 Million dogs in 15 percent of households. According to the current survey, the proportion of mixed-breed dogs has increased from 42 to 42 percent dropped. 5.0 million small animals such as rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters and mice live in 5 percent of households.
Sales increased significantly in some cases
With a total sales of 4,460 billion euros, the stationary specialist and food retail trade recorded a sales increase of 4.3 percent in 2020. Sales of ready-to-eat pet food exceeded the previous year’s result by 4.6 percent to EUR 3.460. The “Nerds and Supplies” segment also grew noticeably, posting sales of 1,52 billion euros, an increase of 3.5 percent. Added to this were 822 million euros via the online market and 128 million euros for wild bird food. The total turnover of the German pet industry is therefore around 5.5 billion euros.
St growth in consumer goods and accessories Sales in the “Necessities and Accessories” segment was 2019 in bricks-and-mortar retail 1.053 billion euros and thus recorded an increase of 3.5 percent compared to 2019. As in previous years, cat litter achieved the largest share of sales and grew by 2.8 percent to 225 million euros. Growth winners were supplies and accessories for cats (218 million euros, up 4.8 percent) and for dogs (225 million euros, up 4.7 percent). A special focus in the accessories market is personalized gifts for dogs or personalized gifts for dog owners. This trend has already established itself in recent years and is now particularly solidified. Experts from the pet industry are of the opinion that the corona pandemic was a relevant factor influencing sales development in the German pet market.
Market for cat food remains the largest food segment
With a total sales of 1,680 billion euros and thus an increase of 5.3 percent compared to the previous year, the market for cat food was also the largest food segment in 2020. The market for dog food continued to grow in 2019 and achieved 1.680 billion euros, a sales increase of 4.0 percent. The strongest growth driver for both dogs and cats was the “Snacks” segment.
While food retailing was the strongest sales channel for ready-to-eat pet food, specialist retailing continues to be the leader in consumer goods and accessories. The increasing importance of the internet for the purchase of pet products was once again clearly evident in the Corona year 2020. The estimated sales volume this year was approximately 822 million euros and thus 117 million euros more than 2019, an increase of over 21 percent.
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Photos: © wanapix / Source: Industry Association for Pet Supplies
