Archive for category: Pet Market Segments

With the current government shutdown, the high cost of living is a “top of mind” issue for all Americans. Our pets have become valued members of our families, so 1 question that often comes up is, “How does Petflation compare to Human Inflation?” In this report we will attempt to answer that question. For all Pet Segments but Supplies, there is a closely matching Human spending category, so the matchup is relatively easy. Let’s get started. We will begin with the most asked question, “How does Pet Food inflation compare to Grocery inflation?”

This chart and all but one in the report show annual cumulative inflation from 1997 to September 2025. 1997 was chosen as the base because that was the 1st year that the CPI was reported by Pet Industry Segment.

You can see that cumulative inflation is a pretty close match for Pet Food & Groceries.

• Grocery prices have doubled since 1997 and Pet Food is close, +91.5%
• Grocery inflation has been above Pet Food except for 2009>2014 and 2019.
• The Melamine recall in 2007 and the switch to Made in the USA caused a spike in Pet Food prices in 2008/2009.
• Inflation slowed and was similar for both from 2015 to 2019
• The 2020 Pandemic had an earlier and slightly greater impact on Grocery prices than on Pet Food.

Now, let’s compare the cumulative inflation of Medical Services to Veterinary Services.

• Human Medical Services prices are 2 2/3 times higher now than in 1997 so you see why people are concerned.
• Veterinary prices have quadrupled since 1997, 79% more than Human Medical.
• Veterinary inflation has been above Human Medical since 1999 and the gap has widened since 2022.

Now, we’ll compare Pet Services inflation to Haircuts & Other Personal Services.

• They have very similar patterns, but Pet Services inflation has cumulatively been ahead of Human Haircuts/Personal Services every year since 1997.
• The price gap began to widen in 2005 and Pet Services inflation is now 39% ahead of Haircuts.
• Prices doubled since 1997 for Pet Services in 2020 and in 2023 for Haircuts.

Under normal circumstances, we would turn our attention to Pet Supplies. Unfortunately, there is no clearly matching Human Category for Pet Supplies. We did figure out a bit of a “work around”. The US BLS began reporting the CPIs for individual Pet Industry Segments in 1997. From 1977 to 1997 they only reported the combined CPI for Pet Products (Food, Pets & Supplies). A reasonable Human match for this group is the CPI for All Commodities.

Here is a chart comparing the inflation of Pet Products to All Commodities.

• The 2 patterns are almost identical and the final numbers since 1977 are within 0.3%.
• All Commodities had a slight lead in Inflation from 1977 through 2008.
• Except for 2014 & 2021/2022, Pet Products took a slight lead in inflation from 2009>2025
• Prices doubled for Commodities from 1977 in 1992 and for Pet Products in 1996.
• Prices tripled from 1977 for both in 2021.

Finally, we will compare Total Petflation to the National CPI

• Except for the Big Pet price lift in 2008/2009, the patterns are almost identical.
• Pet took the lead in cumulative inflation in 2002 and have maintained it ever since.
• The gap widened in 2008/2009 largely due to the switch to Made in the USA Pet Food.
• Total Pet doubled 1997 prices in 2022. The National CPI did it in 2025.
• Since 1997, Petflation is 27.7% more than the National CPI Rate.

In the charts, you saw Petflation patterns that were very similar to Human categories. However, Petflation “won” in all comparisons but Pet Food vs Groceries. The most impactful and concerning chart to me was Veterinary Services vs Human Medical Services. We hear a lot from a wide variety of sources about the high cost of Medical care. It’s amazing that the Veterinary price increase is 79% more. Veterinary prices have quadrupled since 1997.

The charts give a great historical overview but what will happen next? There are outside events that can directly affect prices. 2 examples are the 2007 Melamine recall in Pet Food as Pet Parents switched to “made in the USA, with all USA ingredients”. This caused prices to increase. The second event was the 2020 COVID pandemic. People changed spending patterns and there were serious supply chain disruptions which drove prices up. What is next? Another pandemic is likely but who knows what is next. We live in a very imperfect world so something will happen, sometime.

There is another important number that wasn’t included in the charts – the average annual YOY price change. Below are the annual average price changes for the Pet and Human Categories in the charts. All categories, including Pet Products and All Commodities, show the 1997>2024 average. This allows valid comparisons.

You see that except for Pet Food, the annual Petflation rate is 18>57% higher than the Human rate. It comes as no surprise that Veterinary and Medical Services have the highest rates for both Pets and People. Medical Services (+3.5%) is 40% above the National CPI but Veterinary leads the pack. Their average inflation rate is +5.0%, which is 67% above the Total Petflation rate.

I added a category to this list that is not in the charts – All Services. This was added to illustrate that Services is the driver in both overall Inflation and Petflation. There are only 2 major categories in spending. An expenditure is either for a Commodity (Product) or a Service. In overall spending, Services Inflation is 76.5% more than Commodities inflation and about 64% of all spending is on Services. The disparity is even worse in the Pet Industry. The Petflation rate for All Pet Services (Vet & Pet) is 2.35 times higher than the rate for Pet Products (Food, Pets & Supplies). Thankfully, Pet Services are less than half of Total Pet spending.

I hope that this report gave you a better understanding of Petflation in comparison to Overall Inflation. You can clearly see the similarities and differences.

 

 

The monthly Consumer Price Index peaked back in June 2022 at 9.1% then began to slow until it turned up in Jul/Aug 2023. Prices fell in Oct>Dec 23, then turned up Jan>Oct 24 but fell -0.1% in Nov. However, they have now risen for 9 straight months, including a 0.3% lift in August to a new record high. The CPI vs 24 also increased to +2.9% from +2.7% in July. Grocery prices rose 0.4% from July and their YOY inflation jumped up from 2.2% to 2.7%, the highest rate since 3.0% in August 23. Even minor price changes can affect consumer pet spending, especially in the discretionary pet segments, so we will continue to publish monthly reports to track petflation as it evolves in the market.

Petflation was +4.1% in Dec 21 while the overall CPI was +7.0%. The gap narrowed as Petflation accelerated and reached 96.7% of the national rate in June 22. National inflation has slowed considerably since then, but Petflation generally increased until June 23. It passed the CPI in July 22 but fell below it from Apr>Jul 24. It exceeded the CPI in August, fell below in Sep>Oct, rose above in Nov, then fell below in Dec>Aug 25. As we drill into the data, all reports will include:

• A rolling 24 month tracking of the CPI for all pet segments and the national CPI. The base number will be pre-pandemic December 2019 in this and future reports, which will facilitate comparisons.
• Monthly comparisons of 25 vs 24 which will include Pet Segments and relevant Human spending categories. Plus
  1. CPI change from the previous month.
  2. Inflation changes for recent years (23>24, 22>23, 21>22, 20>21, 19>20, 18>19)
  3. Total Inflation for the current month in 2025 vs 2019 and vs 2021 to see the full inflation surge.
  4. Average annual Year Over Year inflation rate from 2019 to 2025
• YTD comparisons
  1. YTD numbers for the monthly comparisons #2>4 above

In our first graph we will track the monthly change in prices for the 24 months from Aug 23 to Aug 25. We will use December 2019 as a base number so we can track the progress from pre-pandemic times through an eventual recovery. This chart is designed to give you a visual image of the flow of pricing. You can see the similarities and differences in segment patterns and compare them to the overall U.S. CPI. The year-end numbers from 12 and 24 months earlier are included. We also included and highlighted (pink) the cumulative price peak for each segment. In Aug, Pet prices were down -0.2% from July. Products were down – Food (-0.3%); Supplies (-0.6%), while Vet & Services were both up (+0.1%).

In Aug 23, the CPI was +19.5% and Pet was +20.7%. The Services segments inflated after mid-20, while Product inflation stayed low until late 21. In 22, Food prices grew but the others had mixed patterns until July 22, when all rose. In Aug>Oct Petflation took off. In Nov>Dec, Services & Food inflated while Vet & Supplies prices stabilized. In Jan>Apr 23, prices grew every month for all segments except for 1 Supplies dip. In May Product prices grew while Services slowed. In Jun/Jul this reversed. In Aug all but Services fell. In Sep/Oct this flipped. In Nov, all but Food & Vet fell. In Dec, Supp. & Vet  drove prices up. In Jan>Mar 24 prices grew. In April, prices in all but Vet fell. In May, all but Food grew. In June, Products drove a lift. In July, all but Services fell. In Aug, Food drove a drop. In Sep, Products fueled a drop. Services drove a lift in Oct. In Nov, all were up. Prices dropped in March 25, but all but Food have set records since May.

• U.S. CPI – The inflation rate was below 2% through 2020. It turned up in January 21 and continued to grow until flattening out in Jul>Dec 22. Prices rose Jan>Sep 23, fell Oct>Dec, rose Jan>Oct 24, fell Nov, then rose Dec>Aug 25 to a record high but 26.1% of the increase since Dec 19 happened from Jan>Jun 22 – 8.8% of the time.
• Pet Food – Prices were at the Dec 19 level Apr 20>Sep 21. They grew & peaked May 23, then got on a rollercoaster. The ride continues in 25 – Jan>Feb↑, Mar>May↓, Jun>Jul↑, Aug↓. 99% of the lift was in 22/23.
• Pet Supplies – Supplies prices were high in Dec 19 due to tariffs. They had a deflated rollercoaster ride until mid-21 when they returned to Dec 19 prices & essentially stayed there until 22. They turned up in Jan and hit a record high. They plateaued Feb>May, grew in June, flattened in July, then turned up in Aug>Oct to a new record. Prices stabilized Nov>Dec, but grew Jan>Feb 23. They fell in Mar, but the rollercoaster went on. Dec>Feb↑, Mar/Apr↓, May/Jun↑, July↓, Aug↑, Sep/Oct↓, Nov/Dec↑, Jan>Feb 25↓, Mar>May↑(record), Jun↓, Jul↑, Aug↓.
• Pet Services– Inflation is usually 2+%. Perhaps due to closures, prices increased at a lower rate in 2020. In 2021 consumer demand increased but with fewer outlets. Inflation grew in 21 with the biggest lift in Jan>Apr. Inflation was strong in 22 but prices got on a rollercoaster in Mar>Jun. They turned up Jul>Apr 23 but prices fell in May. Jun>Aug↑, Sep>Dec↓, Jan>Mar 24↑, Apr↓, May↑, June↓, Jul>Nov↑, Dec>Mar 25↓, Apr>Aug↑, a record!
• Veterinary – Inflation has been consistent. Prices turned up in Mar 20 and grew through 21. A surge began in Dec 21 which put them above the overall CPI. In May 22 prices fell and stabilized in June causing them to fall below the CPI. However, prices rose again and despite some dips they have stayed above the CPI since July 22. In 23>25 prices grew Jan>May, leveled Jun/Jul, fell Aug, grew Sep>Dec, fell Jan, grew Feb>May, fell Jun>Jul, grew Aug>Aug.
• Total Pet – Petflation is a sum of the segments. In Dec 21 the price surge began. In Mar>Jun 22 the segments had ups & downs, but Petflation grew from Jul>Nov. It slowed in Dec, grew Jan>May 23, fell Jun>Aug, grew Sep/Oct, then fell in Nov. In December prices turned up and grew through Mar 24 to a record high. Prices fell in April, rose May>Jun, fell Jul>Sep, rose Oct>Nov, fell in Dec, rose Jan>Feb 25, fell Mar, set records in Apr>Jul, then fell in Aug.

Next, we’ll turn our attention to the Year Over Year inflation rate change for August and compare it to last month, last year and to previous years. We will also show total inflation from 21>25 & 19>25. Petflation slowed from 2.6% to 2.5% and it is now -13.8% below the National inflation rate. The chart will allow you to compare the inflation rates of 24>25 to 23>24 and other years but also see how much of the total inflation since 2019 came from the current pricing surge. We’ve included some human categories to put the pet numbers into perspective.

Overall, prices were up 0.3% from July and were +2.9% vs Aug 24, up from +2.7% last month. Grocery inflation jumped up to 2.7% from 2.2%. 3 had a price decrease from last month, up from none in July & May. There were 2 drops in Apr/Oct/Nov but 3 in Aug/Sep/Dec/Mar and 5 back in July 24. The national YOY monthly CPI rate of 2.9% is 16% above 23>24, but 22% below 22>23 and 65% less than 21>22. The 24>25 rate is also above 23>24 for Pet Food, Groceries & Med Services. In our 2021>2025 measurement you also can see that over 75% of the cumulative inflation since 2019 has occurred in 4 segments, all Pet – all but Services (72.0%). Except for Pet & Vet Services, where prices have surged, Service Segments have generally had higher inflation rates so there was a smaller pricing lift in the recent surge. Pet Products have a very different pattern. The 21>25 inflation surge provided 96% of their overall inflation since 2019. This happened because Pet Products prices in 2021 were starting to recover from a deflationary period. Services expenditures account for 63.8% of the National CPI so they are very influential. Their current CPI is +3.8% while the CPI for Commodities is 1.3%. This shows that Services are driving almost all of the current 2.9% inflation, but Commodities did drive the August increase. There is an even greater disparity in Pet, but products have a bigger share of $. Petflation is 2.5%. The combined CPI for the Service Segments is 5.1%, while the Pet Products CPI is 0.1%.

• U.S. CPI– Prices are +0.3% from July. The YOY rate rose to 2.9% from 2.7%. It peaked at +9.1% back in June 2022. The targeted inflation rate is <2% so we are 45+% higher than the target. The Apr>Aug lifts follow Feb/Mar drops, 4 straight lifts and 6 consecutive drops from Apr>Sep 24. The current rate is above 23>24 and the 21>25 rate is still +18.4%, 70.0% of the total inflation since 2019. The Inflation surge took off in April 2021, +4.2%, up from 2.6%.
• Pet Food– Prices are -0.3% vs July but +0.2% vs Aug 24. Prices have inflated for 2 straight months, but they are still far below the Food at Home inflation rate of +2.7%. The YOY Pet Food CPI has deflated in 15 of the last 18 months. The 2021>2025 inflation surge has generated 100.4% of the 22.6% inflation since 2019. Inflation began for Pet Food in June 2021, +0.9%, after 12 straight deflationary months.
• Food at Home – Prices are +0.4% from July and the YOY increase rose to 2.7% from 2.2%. This is still radically lower than Jul>Sep 2022 when it exceeded 13%. The 30.5% Inflation for this category since 2019 is 16% more than the national CPI but only in 4th place behind 3 Services expenditures (2 Pet). 69.2% of the inflation since 2019 occurred from 2021>25. This is about the same as the national CPI, but we should note that Grocery prices began inflating in 2020>21 then the rate accelerated. It appears that the pandemic supply chain issues in Food which contributed to higher prices started early and foreshadowed problems in other categories and the overall CPI surge.
• Pets & Supplies– Prices were -0.6% from July and the CPI dropped to 0% from +0.7%. They still have the lowest rate vs 2019. Prices were deflated for much of 20>21. As a result, the 21>25 inflation surge accounted for 85% of the total price increase since 2019. Prices deflated after Oct 22. 3 lifts pushed them to a record high in Feb 23. Prices fell March, rose Apr/May, fell Jun>Aug, grew Sep/Oct, fell Nov, grew Dec>Feb 24, fell Mar/Apr, rose May/Jun, fell July, rose Aug, fell Sep/Oct, rose Nov/Dec, fell Jan/Feb, rose Mar>May. (record), fell Jun, rose Jul, then fell in Aug.
• Veterinary Services– Prices are +0.1% from July, but their YOY CPI vs 24 stayed stable at +6.4%. They remain #1 in inflation vs 24 and are still the leader since 2019 with +46.2% and since 2021, +36.6%. For Veterinary, high annual inflation is the norm. However, the rate has increased during the current surge, especially since 23. They have the highest rate in 25, and 79% of the cumulative inflation since 2019 occurred from 2021>25.
• Medical Services – Prices turned sharply up at the start of the pandemic but then inflation slowed and fell to a low rate in 20>21. Prices were up +0.1% from July, but inflation vs 24 slowed sightly to +4.2% from +4.3%. Medical Services are not a big part of the current surge as only 61% of the 18.3%, 2019>25 increase happened from 21>25.
• Pet Services – Inflation slowed in 20 but grew in 21. In 24 prices surged Jan>Mar, fell April, rose May, fell Jun, rose Jul>Nov, fell Dec>Mar 24 to 3.9%, Apr grew to 5.4%, May fell to 4.9%, rose to 5.9% in Jun & 6.3% in Jul, then fell to 5.8% in Aug. They are #2 in inflation vs 24, 21 & 19. 72% of their 19>25 inflation is from 21>25. In Dec 23, it was 49%.
• Haircuts/Other Personal Services – Prices are +0.5% from July and +3.7% from Aug 24. 13 of the last 20 months have been 4.0+%. Inflation has been pretty consistent. 60% of the 19>25 inflation happened 21>25.
• Total Pet– Petflation slowed to 2.5% from 2.6%. The biggest driver was that Products inflation slowed to +0.1% from 0.3%. 2.5% is -10.7% less than the 23>24 rate and 13.8% below the U.S. CPI. Plus, 2.5% is 19% below the average Aug Total Pet rate since 1997. Aug prices fell -0.2% from July. It was divided – Products down, Services up. A Jul>Aug decrease has only happened in 22% of the years since 1997 (avg Chge: +0.2%). The Pet CPI slowed from 2.6% to 2.5%, a minor decrease. Another factor in minimizing the CPI drop was that prices also fell in Jul>Aug 24. Pricing is very important in Retail Sales, but the CPI is a complex measurement.

Now, let’s look at the YTD numbers.

The 24>25 rate is lower than 23>24 for all but Medical Services & Groceries. The 22>23 inflation rate was the highest for all pet categories but Supplies & Services. 21>22 has the highest rate for Pet Supplies, Groceries and the National CPI. 20>21 has the highest rate for Haircuts & Pet Services. The average national inflation in the 6 years since 2019 is 3.9%. Only 3 of the categories are below that rate – Medical Services (2.9%), Pet Supplies (1.9%) and Pet Food (3.6%). It is no surprise that Veterinary Services has the highest average rate (6.6%), but all 4 other categories are +4.3% or higher.

• U.S. CPI – The 24>25 rate is 2.6%, down 16% from 23>24, but it is down 42% from 22>23, 68.7% less than 21>22 and 33.3% below the average increase from 2019>2025. However, it’s still 79% more than the average increase from 2018>20. 76% of the 25.9% inflation since 2019 occurred from 2021>25. Inflation is a problem that started recently.
• Pet Food – Ytd prices are still deflating, -0.3%, up from -0.4% in July and significantly up from -1.1% in Jan. That’s a big change from 0.9% in 23>24, 13.0% in 22>23 and even the 1.7% 18>20 average. It’s even below 20>21. Pet Food has the highest 22>23 rate but is only #4 in the 21>25 rates. Deflation in the 1^st half of 2021 kept YTD prices low then they surged in 22 and especially in 23. 96% of the inflation since 2019 occurred from 2021>25.
• Food at Home – The 25 inflation rate is double the 23>24 rate, but at 2.2%, it is down 67% from 22>23, 80% from 21>22 and even 4% less than 20>21. However, it is still 5% more than the average rate from 2018>20. It is only in 4th place for the highest inflation since 2019 but still beat the U.S. CPI by 13%. You can see the impact of supply chain issues on the Grocery category as 76% of the inflation since 2019 occurred from 2021>25.
• Pets & Pet Supplies – A true roller coaster, prices rose Jan>Feb 24, fell Mar>Apr, rose May>Jun, fell July, rose Aug, fell Sep>Oct, rose Nov>Dec, fell Jan>Feb 25, then rose Mar>May. Prices vs 24 flipped from inflation to deflation in June, back to inflation in July, then slowed to 0.0% in August. Supplies still have the lowest inflation since 2019. Their biggest YOY lifts since 2019 were in 22 & 23. The 2021 deflation created an unusual situation. Prices are up 11.8% from 2019 but 109% of this lift happened from 21>25. Prices are up 12.9% from their 2021 “bottom”.
• Veterinary Services – Inflation was high in 2019 and steadily grew until it took off in late 2022. The rate may have peaked in 2023, but it is still going strong in 2025, +6.3%, the highest on the chart. They are also #1 in inflation since 2019 and since 2021. At +6.6%, they have the highest average inflation rate since 2019. It is 69% higher than the National Average but 2.3 times higher than the Inflation average for Medical Services. Strong Inflation is the norm in Veterinary Services.
• Medical Services – Prices went up significantly at the beginning of the pandemic, but inflation slowed in 2021. In 2025 it is 3.3%, 14% above the 2.9% 2019>25 average rate. We should also note that 3.3% is also 16.5 times higher than the lowest rate of 0.2% in 22>23.
• Pet Services – After falling in late 2023, prices surged in 2024, then fell in 2025 until an Apr>Aug resurgence. The 24>25 inflation rate of 5.3% is 2nd, behind Veterinary on the chart. It is their lowest rate since 2020, but it is 96% more than their 2018>20 average rate. Pet Services is also 2^nd in both 19>25 and 21>25 inflation.
• Haircuts & Personal Services – The services segments, essential & non-essential, were hit hardest by the pandemic. The industry responded by raising prices. 2025 inflation is 4.1%, 24% below its 20/21 peak, but 24% above the 18>20 average. Consumers are paying over 30% more than in 2019, which usually reduces the purchase frequency.
• Total Pet – 2025 Petflation is 2.1%, the same as July, but 22% less than 23>24. It’s also 9% lower than their 2018>21 avg. and 19% below the CPI. Petflation is still at its lowest rate since early 2021.This was primarily driven by deflation in Pet Products and lower inflation in Services. However, except for Mar & Aug, Pet prices have turned up in 25.

The Petflation recovery paused in Aug 24, came back Sep>Oct, paused in Nov, resumed in Dec>Jan, paused in Feb, restarted in Mar and paused Apr>Jun. Then July hit the highest rate in 2025, but it slowed in Aug. We tend to focus on monthly inflation while ignoring one critical fact. Inflation is cumulative. Pet prices are 24% above 2021 and 28% higher than 2019. Those are big lifts. In fact, current Aug prices for Vet & Services are the highest in history. Note: Total & Pet Products are within 0.7% of their record high. Only Supplies prices (+11.6%) are less than 22.6% higher than 2019. Since price/value is the biggest driver in consumer spending, inflation will affect the Pet Industry. Services will be the least impacted as it is driven by high income CUs. Veterinary will see a reduction in visit frequency. The product segments will see a more complex reaction. Supplies will likely see a reduction in purchase frequency and some Pet Parents may even downgrade their Pet Food. Products will see a strong movement to online purchasing and private label. At SZ and GPE 24 & 25, a huge number of exhibitors actively offered their OEM services. Strong, cumulative inflation has a widespread impact, but tarifflation can hit even harder. Supplies would likely be the most impacted by new high tariffs. We’ll see…

The monthly Consumer Price Index peaked back in June 2022 at 9.1% then began to slow until it turned up in Jul/Aug 2023. Prices fell in Oct>Dec 23, then turned up Jan>Oct 24 but fell -0.1% in Nov. However, they have now risen for 7 straight months, including a 0.3% lift in June to a new record high. The CPI vs 24 also increased to +2.7% from +2.4% in May. Grocery prices rose 0.2% from May and YOY inflation grew from 2.2% to 2.4%. Even minor price changes can affect consumer pet spending, especially in the discretionary pet segments, so we will continue to publish monthly reports to track petflation as it evolves in the market.

Petflation was +4.1% in Dec 21 while the overall CPI was +7.0%. The gap narrowed as Petflation accelerated and reached 96.7% of the national rate in June 22. National inflation has slowed considerably since then, but Petflation generally increased until June 23. It passed the CPI in July 22 but fell below it from Apr>Jul 24. It exceeded the CPI in August, fell below in Sep>Oct, rose above in Nov, then fell below in Dec>Jun 25. As we drill into the data, all reports will include:

• A rolling 24 month tracking of the CPI for all pet segments and the national CPI. The base number will be pre-pandemic December 2019 in this and future reports, which will facilitate comparisons.
• Monthly comparisons of 25 vs 24 which will include Pet Segments and relevant Human spending categories. Plus
  1. CPI change from the previous month.
  2. Inflation changes for recent years (23>24, 22>23, 21>22, 20>21, 19>20, 18>19)
  3. Total Inflation for the current month in 2025 vs 2019 and vs 2021 to see the full inflation surge.
  4. Average annual Year Over Year inflation rate from 2019 to 2025
• YTD comparisons
  1. YTD numbers for the monthly comparisons #2>4 above

In our first graph we will track the monthly change in prices for the 24 months from June 23 to June 25. We will use December 2019 as a base number so we can track the progress from pre-pandemic times through an eventual recovery. This chart is designed to give you a visual image of the flow of pricing. You can see the similarities and differences in segment patterns and compare them to the overall U.S. CPI. The year-end numbers from 12 and 24 months earlier are included. We also included and highlighted (pink) the cumulative price peak for each segment. In June, Pet prices were up 0.2% from May. All but Supplies were up – Food (+0.8%); Vet (+0.01%); Services (+0.9%); Supplies (-0.8%)

In June 23, the CPI was +18.7% and Pet was +21.8%. The Services segments inflated after mid-20, while Product inflation stayed low until late 21. In 22, Food prices grew but the others had mixed patterns until July 22, when all rose. In Aug>Oct Petflation took off. In Nov>Dec, Services & Food inflated while Vet & Supplies prices stabilized. In Jan>Apr 23, prices grew every month for all segments except for 1 Supplies dip. In May Product prices grew while Services slowed. In Jun/Jul this reversed. In Aug all but Services fell. In Sep/Oct this flipped. In Nov, all but Food & Vet fell. In Dec, Supp. & Vet  drove prices up. In Jan>Mar 24 prices grew. In April, prices in all but Vet fell. In May, all but Food grew. In June, Products drove a lift. In July, all but Services fell. In Aug, Food drove a drop. In Sep, Products fueled a drop. Services drove a lift in Oct. In Nov, all were up. Prices dropped in March 25, but all but Food set records in May and/or June.

• U.S. CPI – The inflation rate was below 2% through 2020. It turned up in January 21 and continued to grow until flattening out in Jul>Dec 22. Prices rose Jan>Sep 23, fell Oct>Dec, rose Jan>Oct 24, fell Nov, then rose Dec>Jun 25 to a record high but 26.7% of the increase since Dec 19 happened from Jan>Jun 22 – 9.1% of the time.
• Pet Food – Prices were at the Dec 19 level from Apr 20>Sep 21. Then they grew & peaked May 23. Jun>Aug ↓, Sep>Nov↑, Dec>Feb↓, Mar↑, Apr>May↓, June↑, Jul>Oct↓, Nov↑, Dec↓, Jan>Feb↑, Mar>May↓, Jun↑. 99% of the increase was in 22/23.
• Pet Supplies – Supplies prices were high in Dec 19 due to tariffs. They had a deflated rollercoaster ride until mid-21 when they returned to Dec 19 prices & essentially stayed there until 22. They turned up in Jan and hit a record high. They plateaued Feb>May, grew in June, flattened in July, then turned up in Aug>Oct to a new record. Prices stabilized in Nov>Dec but grew in Jan>Feb 23. They fell in Mar, but the rollercoaster continued with Dec>Feb 24↑, Mar/Apr↓, May/Jun↑, July↓, Aug↑, Sep/Oct↓ & Nov/Dec↑, Jan>Feb 25↓, Mar>May↑(record), June↓.
• Pet Services– Inflation is usually 2+%. Perhaps due to closures, prices increased at a lower rate in 2020. In 2021 consumer demand increased but with fewer outlets. Inflation grew in 21 with the biggest lift in Jan>Apr. Inflation was strong in 22 but prices got on a rollercoaster in Mar>Jun. They turned up Jul>Apr 23 but prices fell in May. Jun>Aug↑, Sep>Dec↓, Jan>Mar 24↑, Apr↓, May↑, June↓, Jul>Nov↑, Dec>Mar 25↓, Apr>Jun↑, a new record!
• Veterinary – Inflation has been consistent. Prices turned up in Mar 20 and grew through 21. A surge began in Dec 21 which put them above the overall CPI. In May 22 prices fell and stabilized in June causing them to fall below the CPI. However, prices rose again and despite some dips they have stayed above the CPI since July 22. In 23>25 prices grew Jan>May 23, leveled Jun/Jul, fell Aug, grew Sep>Dec, fell Jan 24, grew Feb>May, fell Jun>Jul, grew Aug>Jun 25.
• Total Pet – Petflation is a sum of the segments. In Dec 21 the price surge began. In Mar>Jun 22 the segments had ups & downs, but Petflation grew from Jul>Nov. It slowed in Dec, grew Jan>May 23 (record), fell Jun>Aug, grew Sep/Oct, then fell in Nov. In December prices turned up and grew through Mar 24 to a record high. Prices fell in April, rose May>Jun, fell Jul>Sep, rose Oct>Nov, fell in Dec, rose Jan>Feb 25, fell Mar, then set records in Apr>Jun.

Next, we’ll turn our attention to the Year Over Year inflation rate change for June and compare it to last month, last year and to previous years. We will also show total inflation from 21>25 & 19>25. Petflation slowed from 2.2% to 2.1% and it is even further below the National inflation rate (now by -22.2%). The chart will allow you to compare the inflation rates of 24>25 to 23>24 and other years but also see how much of the total inflation since 2019 came from the current pricing surge. We’ve included some human categories to put the pet numbers into perspective.

Overall, prices were up 0.3% from May and were +2.7% vs June 24, up from +2.4% last month. Grocery inflation grew to 2.4% from 2.2%. Only 1 had a price decrease from last month. This is up from 0 in May but down from 2 in April. There were also 2 drops in Oct/Nov but 3 in Aug/Sep/Dec/Mar and 5 back in July 24. The national YOY monthly CPI rate of 2.7% is up from 2.4%, but 10% below the 23>24 & 22>23 rates and 70% less than 21>22. The 24>25 rate is above 23>24 for 3 – Groceries, Medical Services & Total Pet. In our 2021>2025 measurement you also can see that over 75% of the cumulative inflation since 2019 has occurred in 4 segments, all Pet – all but Services (close at 74.5%). Except for Pet & Vet Services, where prices have surged, Service Segments have generally had higher inflation rates so there was a smaller pricing lift in the recent surge. Pet Products have a very different pattern. The 21>25 inflation surge actually provided 104% of their overall inflation since 2019. This happened because Pet Products prices in 2021 were starting to recover from a deflationary period. Services expenditures account for 63.8% of the National CPI so they are very influential. Their current CPI is +3.8% while the CPI for Commodities is 0.6%. This shows that Services are driving almost all of the current 2.7% inflation. There is an even greater disparity in Pet, but products have a bigger share of $. Petflation is 2.1%. The combined CPI for the Service Segments is 5.6%, while the Pet Products CPI is -0.5%.

• U.S. CPI– Prices are +0.3% from May. The YOY increase is 2.7%, up from 2.4%. It peaked at +9.1% back in June 2022. The targeted inflation rate is <2% so we are 35+% higher than the target. The Apr>Jun lifts follow Feb/Mar drops, 4 straight lifts and 6 consecutive drops from Apr>Sep 24. The current rate is below 23>24 but the 21>25 rate is still +18.7%, 72.2% of the total inflation since 2019. The Inflation surge took off in April 2021, +4.2%, up from 2.6%.
• Pet Food– Prices are +0.8% vs May and -0.3% vs June 24. YOY deflation slowed from -0.5% in May. However, they are still far below the Food at Home inflation rate of +2.4%. The YOY Pet Food CPI has now deflated in 15 of the last 16 months. The 2021>2025 inflation surge has generated 98.7% of the 23.3% inflation since 2019. Inflation began for Pet Food in June 2021, +0.9%, after 12 straight deflationary months.
• Food at Home – Prices are +0.2% from May, and the YOY increase rose to 2.4% from 2.2%. This is still radically lower than Jul>Sep 2022 when it exceeded 13%. The 29.7% Inflation for this category since 2019 is 15% more than the national CPI but only in 4th place behind 3 Services expenditures (2 Pet). 72.7% of the inflation since 2019 occurred from 2021>25. This is about the same as the CPI, but we should note that Grocery prices began inflating in 2020>21 then the rate accelerated. It appears that the pandemic supply chain issues in Food which contributed to higher prices started early and foreshadowed problems in other categories and the overall CPI surge.
• Pets & Supplies– Prices were -0.8% from May and the CPI flipped to -0.1% from 1.7%. They still have the lowest rate vs 2019. Prices were deflated for much of 20>21. As a result, the 2021>25 inflation surge accounted for 124% of the total price increase since 2019. Prices set a record in October 2022 then deflated. 3 lifts pushed them to a record high in Feb 23. Prices fell March, rose Apr/May, fell Jun>Aug, grew Sep/Oct, fell Nov, grew Dec>Feb 24, fell Mar/Apr, rose May/Jun, fell July, rose Aug, fell Sep/Oct, rose Nov/Dec, fell Jan/Feb 25, rose Mar>May. (new record), then fell in June.
• Veterinary Services– Prices are only +0.01% from May, but their YOY CPI vs 24 grew to +6.1% from +5.6%. They remain #1 in inflation vs 24 and are still the leader since 2019 with +47.0% and since 2021, +35.3%. For Veterinary, high annual inflation is the norm. However, the rate has increased during the current surge, especially since 23. They have the highest rate in 25, and 75% of the cumulative inflation since 2019 occurred from 2021>25.
• Medical Services – Prices turned sharply up at the start of the pandemic but then inflation slowed and fell to a low rate in 20>21. Prices were up +0.6% from May and inflation vs 24 grew to +3.4% in June from +3.0% in May. Medical Services are not a big part of the current surge as only 58.7% of the 18.9%, 2019>25 increase happened from 21>25.
• Pet Services – Inflation slowed in 20 but grew in 21. In 24 prices surged Jan>Mar, fell in April, rose in May, fell in June, rose Jul>Nov, fell Dec>Mar 25 to 3.9%, grew to 5.4% in Apr, fell to 4.9% in May, then rose to 5.9% in June. They are #2 in YOY inflation vs 24 and vs 21 & 19. 74.5% of their total 19>25 inflation is from 21>25. In Dec 23, it was 49%.
• Haircuts/Other Personal Services – Prices are +0.6% from May and +3.8% from June 24. 13 of the last 18 months have been 4.0+%. Inflation has been pretty consistent. 66.8% of the 19>25 inflation happened 21>25.
• Total Pet– Petflation slowed to 2.1% from 2.2% in May. Services had higher rates while Products deflated. 2.1% is 5.0% more than the 23>24 rate but 22.2% below the U.S. CPI. Plus, 2.1% is 32% below the average June Pet rate since 1997. June prices rose 2% from May, driven by all but Supplies. A May>Jun increase has happened in 70% of the years since 1997 (avg Chge: +0.2%, equal to 2025). The Pet CPI slowed from 2.2% to 2.1%, a 4.5% decrease. A key factor in the small 25 CPI drop was that prices rose 0.3% in May>Jun 24, compared to a 0.2% lift in 25. In 2025, we continue to move towards more normal spending patterns.

Now, let’s look at the YTD numbers.

The 24>25 rate is lower than 23>24 for all but Medical Services, Pet Supplies & Groceries. The 22>23 inflation rate was the highest for all pet categories but Supplies. 21>22 has the highest rate for Pet Supplies, Groceries, Haircuts and the National CPI. The average national inflation in the 6 years since 2019 is 3.9%. Only 3 of the categories are below that rate – Medical Services (2.9%), Pet Supplies (1.9%) and Pet Food (3.6%). It is no surprise that Veterinary Services has the highest average rate (6.6%), but all 4 other categories are +4.3% or higher.

• U.S. CPI – The 24>25 rate is 2.6%, down 19% from 23>24, but it is down 47% from 22>23, 68.7% less than 21>22 and 33.3% below the average increase from 2019>2025. However, it’s still 79% more than the average increase from 2018>20. 78% of the 25.9% inflation since 2019 occurred from 2021>25. Inflation is a problem that started recently.
• Pet Food – Ytd prices are still deflating, -0.5%, the same as May, but up from -1.1% in Jan. That’s a big change from 1.3% in 23>24, 14.2% in 22>23 and even the 1.7% 18>20 average. It’s even below the deflation in 20>21. Pet Food has the highest 22>23 rate but is only #5 in the 21>25 rates. Deflation in the 1^st half of 2021 kept YTD prices low then they surged in 22 and especially in 23. 94% of the inflation since 2019 occurred from 2021>25.
• Food at Home – The inflation rate is up 91% from 23>24 but at 2.1%, it is down 73% from 22>23, 79% from 21>22 and even 5% less than 20>21. However, it is still 8% more than the average rate from 2018>20. It is only in 4th place for the highest inflation since 2019 but still beat the U.S. CPI by 12%. You can see the impact of supply chain issues on the Grocery category as 78% of the inflation since 2019 occurred from 2021>25.
• Pets & Pet Supplies – A true roller coaster, prices rose Jan>Feb 24, fell Mar>Apr, rose May>Jun, fell July, rose Aug, fell Sep>Oct, rose Nov>Dec, fell Jan>Feb 25, then rose Mar>May. Prices vs 24 flipped from inflation to deflation in June. Supplies still have the lowest inflation since 2019. The biggest YOY lifts since 2019 were in 22 & 23. The 2021 deflation created an unusual situation. Prices are up 11.9% from 2019 but 115% of this lift happened from 21>25. Prices are up 13.7% from their 2021 “bottom”.
• Veterinary Services – Inflation was high in 2019 and steadily grew until it took off in late 2022. The rate may have peaked in 2023, but it is still going strong in 2025, +6.3%, the highest on the chart. They are also #1 in inflation since 2019 and since 2021. At +6.6%, they have the highest average inflation rate since 2019. It is 1.7 times higher than the National Average but 2.3 times higher than the Inflation average for Medical Services. Strong Inflation is the norm in Veterinary Services.
• Medical Services – Prices went up significantly at the beginning of the pandemic, but inflation slowed in 2021. In 2025 it is 3.0%, just slightly above the 2.9% 2019>25 average rate. However, it is being measured against 2024 which had the 2^nd lowest Ytd June rate since 2019.
• Pet Services – After falling in late 2023, prices surged in 2024, then fell in 2025 until an Apr>Jun resurgence. The 24>25 inflation rate of 5.0% is 2nd, behind Veterinary on the chart. It is only their 4th highest rate, but it is 1.3 times higher than their 2018>21 average rate. Pet Services is also 2^nd in both 19>25 and 21>25 inflation.
• Haircuts & Personal Services – The services segments, essential & non-essential, were hit hardest by the pandemic. The industry responded by raising prices. 2025 inflation is 4.2%, 22% below its 21 peak, but 31% above the 18>20 average. Consumers are paying over 30% more than in 2019, which usually reduces the purchase frequency.
• Total Pet – 2025 Petflation is 2.0%, the same as May but 31% less than 23>24. It’s even 10% lower than the 2018>21 avg rate. Plus, it is 23% below the CPI. Petflation is still at its lowest rate since early 2021. This was primarily driven by deflation in Pet Products and lower inflation in Services. However, in Apr>Jun, Pet prices have generally turned up

The Petflation recovery paused in Aug, came back Sep>Oct, paused in Nov, resumed in Dec>Jan, paused in Feb, restarted in Mar, paused in Apr>May, but “sort of” restarted in June. We tend to focus on monthly YOY inflation while ignoring one critical fact. Inflation is cumulative. Pet prices are 24.2% above 2021 and 28.5% higher than 2019. Those are big lifts. In fact, current June Pet prices for both Service segments & Total Pet are the highest in history. Note: Product prices are within 1.1% of their record high. Only Supplies prices (+11.6%) are less than 23.3% higher than 2019. Since price/value is the biggest driver in consumer spending, inflation will affect the Pet Industry. Services will be the least impacted as it is driven by high income CUs. Veterinary will see a reduction in visit frequency. The product segments will see a more complex reaction. Supplies will likely see a reduction in purchase frequency and some Pet Parents may even downgrade their Pet Food. Products will see a strong movement to online purchasing and private label. At SZ 24 and GPE 24 & 25, a huge number of exhibitors actively offered their OEM services. We’ll see the same at SZ 25. Strong, cumulative inflation has a widespread impact, but tarifflation can hit even harder. Supplies would likely be the most impacted by new high tariffs. We’ll see…

 

The monthly Consumer Price Index peaked back in June 2022 at 9.1% then began to slow until it turned up in Jul/Aug 2023. Prices fell in Oct>Dec 23, then turned up Jan>Oct 24 but fell -0.1% in Nov. However, they have now risen for 5 straight months, including a 0.3% lift in April to a new record high. However, the CPI vs 24 fell to +2.3% from +2.4% in March. Grocery prices dropped -0.3% from March and YOY inflation slowed from 2.4% to 2.0%. Even minor price changes can affect consumer pet spending, especially in the discretionary pet segments, so we will continue to publish monthly reports to track petflation as it evolves in the market.

Petflation was +4.1% in Dec 21 while the overall CPI was +7.0%. The gap narrowed as Petflation accelerated and reached 96.7% of the national rate in June 22. National inflation has slowed considerably since then, but Petflation generally increased until June 23. It passed the CPI in July 22 but fell below it from Apr>Jul 24. It exceeded the CPI in August, fell below in Sep>Oct, rose above in November, then fell below in Dec>Apr 25. As we drill into the data, all reports will include:

• A rolling 24 month tracking of the CPI for all pet segments and the national CPI. The base number will be pre-pandemic December 2019 in this and future reports, which will facilitate comparisons.
• Monthly comparisons of 25 vs 24 which will include Pet Segments and relevant Human spending categories. Plus
  1. CPI change from the previous month.
  2. Inflation changes for recent years (23>24, 22>23, 21>22, 20>21, 19>20, 18>19)
  3. Total Inflation for the current month in 2025 vs 2019 and vs 2021 to see the full inflation surge.
  4. Average annual Year Over Year inflation rate from 2019 to 2025
• YTD comparisons
  1. YTD numbers for the monthly comparisons #2>4 above

In our first graph we will track the monthly change in prices for the 24 months from Apr 23 to Apr 25. We will use December 2019 as a base number so we can track the progress from pre-pandemic times through an eventual recovery. This chart is designed to give you a visual image of the flow of pricing. You can see the similarities and differences in segment patterns and compare them to the overall U.S. CPI. The year-end numbers from 12 and 24 months earlier are included. We also included and highlighted (pink) the cumulative price peak for each segment. In April, Pet prices were up 0.4% from March. Only Food (-0.1%) was down while Vet (+0.2%), Services (+1.3%) & Supplies (+1.2%) were up.

In April 23, the CPI was +18.1% and Pet was +21.6%. The Services segments inflated after mid-20, while Product inflation stayed low until late 21. In 22, Food prices grew but the others had mixed patterns until July 22, when all rose. In Aug>Oct Petflation took off. In Nov>Dec, Services & Food inflated while Vet & Supplies prices stabilized. In Jan>Apr 23, prices grew every month for all segments except for 1 Supplies dip. In May Product prices grew while Services slowed. In Jun/Jul this reversed. In Aug all but Services fell. In Sep/Oct this flipped. In Nov, all but Food & Vet fell. In Dec, Supplies & Veterinary  drove prices up. In Jan>Mar 24 prices grew. In April, prices in all but Veterinary fell. In May, all but Food grew. In June, Products drove a lift. In July, all but Services fell. In August, Food drove a drop. In September, Products fueled a drop. Services drove a lift in October. In November, all were up. After the drop in March 25, all but Food reached record highs in April.

• U.S. CPI – The inflation rate was below 2% through 2020. It turned up in January 21 and continued to grow until flattening out in Jul>Dec 22. Prices rose Jan>Sep 23, fell Oct>Dec, rose Jan>Oct 24, fell Nov, then rose Dec>Apr to a record high but 27.4% of the increase since Dec 19 happened from Jan>Jun 22 – 9.4% of the time.
• Pet Food – Prices were at the Dec 19 level Apr 20>Sep 21. They grew & peaked May 23. Jun>Aug ↓, Sep>Nov↑, Dec>Feb↓, Mar↑, Apr>May↓, June↑, Jul>Oct↓, Nov↑, Dec↓, Jan>Feb↑, Mar>Apr↓. 99% of the 19>25 lift occurred in 22/23.
• Pet Supplies – Supplies prices were high in December 19 due to tariffs. They had a deflated rollercoaster ride until mid-21 when they returned to Dec 19 prices & essentially stayed there until 22. They turned up in Jan and hit a record high. They plateaued Feb>May, grew in June, flattened in July, then turned up in Aug>Oct to a new record. Prices stabilized in Nov>Dec but grew in Jan>Feb 23. They fell in Mar, but the rollercoaster continued with Dec>Feb 24↑, Mar/Apr↓, May/Jun↑, July↓, Aug↑, Sep/Oct↓, Nov/Dec↑, Jan>Feb 25↓, Mar>Apr↑ to a new record high.
• Pet Services– Inflation is usually 2+%. Perhaps due to closures, prices increased at a lower rate in 2020. In 2021 consumer demand increased but with fewer outlets. Inflation grew in 21 with the biggest lift in Jan>Apr. Inflation was strong in 22 but prices got on a rollercoaster in Mar>Jun. They turned up Jul>Apr 23 but prices fell in May. Jun>Aug↑, Sep>Dec↓, Jan>Mar 24↑, Apr↓, May↑, June↓, Jul>Nov↑, Dec>Mar 25↓, Apr↑ to a new record high!
• Veterinary – Inflation has been consistent. Prices turned up in March 20 and grew through 21. A surge began in December 21 which put them above the overall CPI. In May 22 prices fell and stabilized in June causing them to fall below the CPI. However, prices rose again and despite some dips they have stayed above the CPI since July 22. In 23>24 prices grew Jan>May, leveled Jun/Jul, fell Aug, grew Sep>Dec, fell Jan 24, grew Feb>May, fell Jun>Jul, grew Aug>Apr 25.
• Total Pet – Petflation is a sum of the segments. In December 21 the price surge began. In Mar>Jun 22 the segments had ups & downs, but Petflation grew again from Jul>Nov. It slowed in December, grew Jan>May 23 (peak), fell Jun>Aug, grew Sep/Oct, then fell in November. In December prices turned up and grew through Mar 24 to a record high. Prices fell in April, rose May>Jun, fell Jul>Sep, rose Oct>Nov, fell in Dec, rose Jan>Feb 25, fell in Mar, then rose to a record high in April.

Next, we’ll turn our attention to the Year Over Year inflation rate change for April and compare it to last month, last year and to previous years. We will also show total inflation from 21>25 & 19>25. In April, Petflation rose from 1.3% to 1.9% but it is still below the National inflation rate (by -17.4%). The chart will allow you to compare the inflation rates of 24>25 to 23>24 and other years but also see how much of the total inflation since 2019 came from the current pricing surge. We’ve included some human categories to put the pet numbers into perspective.

Overall, prices were up 0.3% from March and were +2.3% vs Apr 24, down from +2.4% last month. Grocery inflation slowed to 2.0%, down from 2.4%. Only 2 had price decreases from last month, down from 3 in March. Both were food related – Human & Pet. There were also 2 drops in Oct/Nov but 3 in Aug/Sep/Dec/Mar and 5 back in July. The national YOY monthly CPI rate of 2.3% is down from 2.4%, 32.4% below the 23>24 rate and 72% less than 21>22. The 24>25 rate is above 23>24 for 5 – Groceries, Medical Services & 3 Pet – Supplies, Services & Total. In our 2021>2025 measurement you also can see that over 75% of the cumulative inflation since 2019 has occurred in 6 segments, 4 are Pet – all but Services, plus Groceries & the National CPI. Except for Pet & Vet Services, where prices have surged, Service Segments have generally had higher inflation rates so there was a smaller pricing lift in the recent surge. Pet Products have a very different pattern. The 21>25 inflation surge provided 99% of their overall inflation since 2019. This happened because Pet Products prices in 2021 were still recovering from a deflationary period. Services expenditures account for 63.8% of the National CPI so they are very influential. Their current CPI is +3.7% while the CPI for Commodities is -0.2%. This shows that Services are driving all of the current 2.3% inflation. The situation in Pet is similar but products have a bigger share of Total $. Petflation is 1.9%. The combined CPI for the Service Segments is 4.6%, while the Pet Products CPI is -0.2%.

• U.S. CPI– Prices are +0.3% from Mar. The YOY increase is 2.3%, down from 2.4%. It peaked at +9.1% back in June 2022. The targeted inflation rate is <2% so we are still 15+% higher than the target. The April lift follows Feb/Mar drops, 4 straight lifts and 6 consecutive drops from Apr>Sep 24. The current rate is below 23>24 but the 21>25 rate is still +20.1%, 78.8% of the total inflation since 2019. The Inflation surge took off in April 2021, +4.2%, up from 2.6% in March 21.
• Pet Food– Prices are -0.1% vs March and -0.6% vs Apr 24. Deflation slowed from -0.9% in March. However, they are still far below the Food at Home inflation rate of +2.0%. The YOY Pet Food CPI has now deflated in 13 of the last 14 months. The 2021>2025 inflation surge has generated 94.4% of the 23.1% inflation since 2019. Inflation began for Pet Food in June 2021, +0.9%, after 12 straight deflationary months.
• Food at Home – Prices are -0.3% from March, and the YOY increase slowed to 2.0% from 2.4%. This is radically lower than Jul>Sep 2022 when it exceeded 13%. The 28.9% Inflation for this category since 2019 is 13% more than the national CPI but only in 4th place behind 3 Services expenditures (2 Pet). 77.5% of the inflation since 2019 occurred from 2021>25. This is about the same as the CPI, but we should note that Grocery prices began inflating in 2020>21 then the rate accelerated. It appears that the pandemic supply chain issues in Food which contributed to higher prices started early and foreshadowed problems in other categories and the overall CPI surge.
• Pets & Supplies– Prices were +1.2 from March and deflation, -0.6%, flipped to inflation, +1.9%. However, they still have the lowest rate vs 2019. Prices were deflated for much of 20>21. As a result, the 2021>25 inflation surge accounted for 109% of the total price increase since 2019. Prices set a record in October 2022 then deflated. 3 lifts pushed them to a record high in Feb 23. Prices fell in March, rose Apr/May, fell Jun>Aug, grew Sep/Oct, fell in November, grew Dec>Feb, fell Mar/Apr, rose May/Jun, fell in July, rose in August, fell Sep/Oct, rose Nov/Dec, fell Jan/Feb, then rose Mar/Apr to a new record high.
• Veterinary Services– Prices are +0.2% from March, but their YOY CPI vs 24 slowed to +5.3% from +5.9%. They fell to #2 in inflation vs 24 but are still the leader since 2019 with +47.3% and since 2021, +36.4%. For Veterinary, high annual inflation is the norm. However, the rate has increased during the current surge, especially since 23. They have the 2^nd highest rate in 25, and 77% of the cumulative inflation since 2019 occurred from 2021>25.
• Medical Services – Prices turned sharply up at the start of the pandemic but then inflation slowed and fell to a low rate in 20>21. Prices were up +0.4% from March and inflation vs 24 rose to +3.1% from +3.0%. Medical Services are not a big part of the current surge as only 52.9% of the 18.9%, 2019>25 increase happened from 21>25.
• Pet Services – Inflation slowed in 2020 but began to grow in 21. In 24 prices surged Jan>Mar, fell in April, rose in May, fell in June, rose Jul>Nov, fell Dec>Mar 25 to 3.9%, then spiked at 5.4% in April. They are now #1 in YOY inflation vs 24 and #2 vs 21 & 19. 70.3% of their total 19>25 inflation is from 21>25. In Dec 23, it was 49%.
• Haircuts/Other Personal Services – Prices are +0.1% from March and +3.6% from Apr 24. 13 of the last 16 months have been 4.0+%. Inflation has been pretty consistent as 63.7% of the 19>25 inflation happened 21>25.
• Total Pet– Petflation rose to 1.9% from 1.3%. All segments but Veterinary had a higher rate and all, but Food reached a record high price. 1.9% is 12% more than the 23>24 rate but 17% below the U.S. CPI. Plus, 1.9% is 39% below the average April Pet rate since 1997. April prices rose 0.4%, driven by all segments but Food. A Mar>Apr decrease has happened only 4 times since 1997 (avg Chge: +0.4%, the same as 2025). Jumping from 1.3% to 1.9% is a 46% increase but a big factor in the 25 CPI lift was that prices fell -0.2% in Mar>Apr 24, a rare occurrence. In 2025, we continue to move towards more normal spending patterns.

Now, let’s look at the YTD numbers.

The 24>25 rate is lower than 23>24 for all but Medical Services, Pet Services, Groceries & Haircuts. The 22>23 inflation rate was the highest for Groceries (tied with 21>22) and all pet categories but Supplies. 21>22 has the highest rate for Pet Supplies, Groceries (tie) and the National CPI. The average national inflation in the 6 years since 2019 is 3.9%. Only 3 of the categories are below that rate – Medical Services (2.9%), Pet Supplies (1.9%) and Pet Food (3.7%). It is no surprise that Veterinary Services has the highest average rate (6.6%), but all 4 other categories are +4.3% or higher.

• U.S. CPI – The 24>25 rate is 2.6%, down 21% from 23>24, but it is down 54% from 22>23, 67.5% less than 21>22 and 33.3% below the average increase from 2019>2025. However, it’s still 53% more than the average increase from 2018>20. 81% of the 25.9% inflation since 2019 occurred from 2021>25. Inflation is a problem that started recently.
• Pet Food – Ytd prices are still deflating, -0.5%, the same as March, but up considerably from -1.1% in January. That’s a big change from 2.2% in 23>24, 14.8% in 22>23 and even the 1.9% 18>20 average. However, it’s the same as the deflation in 20>21. Pet Food has the highest 22>23 rate but is only #5 in the 21>25 rates. Deflation in the 1^st half of 2021 kept YTD prices low then they surged in 22 and especially in 23. 92% of the inflation since 2019 occurred from 2021>25.
• Food at Home – The inflation rate is up from 23>24 but at 2.1%, it is down 77% from 22>23 and 21>22 and 28% less than 20>21. However, it is still 56% more than the average rate from 2018>20. It is only in 4th place for the highest inflation since 2019 but still beat the U.S. CPI by 11%. You can see the impact of supply chain issues on the Grocery category as 80% of the inflation since 2019 occurred from 2021>25.
• Pets & Pet Supplies – A true roller coaster, prices rose Jan>Feb 24, fell Mar>Apr, rose May>Jun, fell in July, rose in August, fell Sep>Oct, rose Nov>Dec, fell Jan>Feb 25, then rose Mar>Apr. Prices are again inflating vs 24, but Supplies have the lowest inflation since 2019. The biggest lifts since 2019 were in 22 & 23. The 2021 deflation created an unusual situation. Prices are up 11.9% from 2019 but 113% of this lift happened from 21>25. Prices are up 13.4% from their 2021 “bottom”.
• Veterinary Services – Inflation was high in 2019 and steadily grew until it took off in late 2022. The rate may have peaked in 2023, but it is still going strong in 2025, +6.5%, the highest on the chart. They are also #1 in inflation since 2019 and since 2021. At +6.6%, they have the highest average inflation rate since 2019. It is 1.7 times higher than the National Average but 2.3 times higher than the Inflation average for Medical Services. Strong Inflation is the norm in Veterinary Services.
• Medical Services – Prices went up significantly at the beginning of the pandemic, but inflation slowed in 2021. In 2025 it is 3.0%, just slightly above the 2.9% 2019>25 average rate. However, it is being measured against 2024 when prices had the lowest inflation rate of any year, at least since 2019. (24: +1.61% beat 23: +1.64%)
• Pet Services – After falling in late 2023, prices surged in 2024, then fell in 2025 until an April resurgence. The 24>25 inflation rate of 4.8% is 2nd, behind Veterinary on the chart. It is tied with 23>24 and only their 3^rd highest rate since 2019 but it is 1.4 times higher than their 2018>21 average rate. Pet Services is also 2^nd in both 19>25 and 21>25 inflation.
• Haircuts & Personal Services – The services segments, essential & non-essential, were hit hardest by the pandemic. The industry responded by raising prices. 2025 inflation is 4.4%, 24% below its 21 peak, but 38% above the 18>20 average. Consumers are paying over 30% more than in 2019, which usually reduces the purchase frequency.
• Total Pet – 2025 Petflation is 1.9%, the same as March but 44% less than 23>24. It’s even 17% lower than the 2018>21 avg rate. Plus, it is 27% below the CPI. Petflation is still at its lowest rate since early 2021. Until April, this was driven by deflation in Pet Products and lower inflation in Services. In April, Pet prices generally turned up.

The Petflation recovery paused in August, came back Sep>Oct, paused in November, resumed in Dec>Jan, paused in February, restarted in March, but may have paused again in April. We tend to focus on monthly YOY inflation while ignoring one critical fact. Inflation is cumulative. Pet prices are 23.7% above 2021 and 28.5% higher than 2019. Those are big lifts. In fact, current April Pet prices for all but Food are the highest in history. Note: Food is within 1.5% of its record high set in May 2023. Only Supplies prices (+12.5%) are less than 23.1% higher than 2019. Since price/value is the biggest driver in consumer spending, inflation will affect the Pet Industry. Services will be the least impacted as it is driven by high income CUs. Veterinary will see a reduction in visit frequency. The product segments will see a more complex reaction. Supplies will likely see a reduction in purchase frequency and some Pet Parents may even downgrade their Pet Food. Products will see a strong movement to online purchasing and private label. At SZ 24 and GPE 24 & 25, a huge number of exhibitors actively offered their OEM services. We’ll likely see the same at SZ 25. Strong, cumulative inflation has a widespread impact, but tarifflation can hit even harder. Supplies would likely be most impacted by new high tariffs. We’ll see what happens.

 

The first reports of our Pet Spending Demographics analysis have been very detailed and intense. We looked at the industry as a whole and each of the individual segments. Recent years have seen some turmoil. We have seen the very real impact of outside influences on the industry. In the 2^nd half of 2018, the FDA warning on grain free dog food caused a $2.3B drop in Food $ and new Tariffs flattened Supplies $, but Services had a record lift. In 2019, Food rebounded but the tariffs really hit the Supplies segment with a $3B drop. Veterinary $ grew slightly while Services $ fell a bit. The net was -0.2% drop in Total Pet. The 2020 pandemic had varied impacts as Pet Parents focused on needs. This caused a lift in Veterinary and a huge increase in Food because some demographics binge bought out of fear of shortages. Services spending plummeted due to outlet closures and restrictions while Supplies $ continued to fall because consumers saw them as more discretionary. 2021 brought a big change, Food $ fell because there was no “binge” repeat. However, Pet Parents focused on their “children” producing a widespread record lift in all other segments and a $16B increase. In 2022, after the record lift in 2021, spending fell in Supplies and Veterinary, but Food had a strong 12.5% increase and Services continued to surge. This combination produced a 2.7% increase in Total Pet $. In 2023, the industry appears to have fully recovered with spending lifts in all 4 segments for the 1^st time since 2014. A 20% increase in Veterinary and a record lift in Food drove the 3^rd largest increase in history, +$14.89B, and Total Pet Spending reached $117.6B.

We have often referenced the similarities and differences in spending between Total Pet and the individual industry segments. Total Pet Spending is a sum of the parts and not all parts are equal. In this final report we are going to put the segments side by side to make the parallels, differences and changes from 2022 more readily apparent. We will address:

• “The big spenders” – those groups which account for the bulk of pet spending.
• The best and worst performing segments in each of twelve demographic categories
• The segments with the biggest changes in spending $ – both positive and negative
• And of course, the “Ultimate Spending CUs”

The emphasis is on “visual” side by side comparisons to allow you to quickly compare the industry segments. We’ll try to minimalize our comments. You can always reference one of the specific reports for more details. We’ll also break the charts up into smaller pieces that are demographically related to make the comparison more focused and easier.

Before we get started, let’s take a look at the current market share of the industry segments. The following 2 charts show the 2023 share of spending for each segment and the evolution over the past 30 years. 1992 was the last year that the Food Segment accounted for 50% of Total Pet Spending. By the way, Total Pet Spending was $16.2B in 1992. We have come a long way, +626%; annual growth rate of 6.6%. This will help put our comparisons into better perspective.

2022>2023 CHANGE in SHARE of TOTAL PET SPENDING

Food: 38.7%, Up from 37.7%

Veterinary: 30.3%, Up from 28.6%

Pets & Supplies: 19.6%, Down from 21.4%

Non-Vet Services: 11.4%, Down -0.6% from 12.0% 

In 2023, Food & Veterinary gained 2.4% in share in Total Pet $ from Supplies & Services. The most notable trend from 1992 to 2012 was the decline in Food share while Supplies gained in importance. Both of those have ended. In recent years, the Product Segments have been on a rollercoaster. Food reached 44% in 2020, the highest level since 44.8% in 1998. Supplies have been trending down since 2012, hitting bottom at 18.1% in 2020 but are again below 20% in 2023 (19.6%). Both Services segments have been more stable. They have generally trended up since 2012. After falling to 8.2% in 2020, Non-Vet Services peaked at 12% in 2022. Except for the big lifts in 2021 & 2023, which pushed them above 30%, Veterinary has been in the 25>28% range since 2012. All are impacted by outside influences but big trends in Food and Petflation tend to make the Product Segments more volatile than the Services Segments.

Now let’s get started with a look at the “Big Spenders”. The following 2 charts will compare the market share and performance in all Pet Industry segments by the groups responsible for the bulk of the spending in 10 demographic categories. With 1 exception – Age, these are the groups that we identified in our Total Pet analysis to generate at least a 60% market share of spending. As you recall, to better target the spending we altered from 1 to 4 groups in every segment. However, to have a true side by side comparison we need to use the same groups for all. The groups that we chose make sense and are the same as 2021. You will see that in a few cases, the share of $ is close  but does not meet our target of 60%. Most of these are due to Food spending becoming significantly more balanced.

The chart makes it especially easy to compare share and performance across categories. Remember, performance levels above 120% show a very high level of importance for this category in terms of increased spending. Unfortunately, it also indicates a high spending disparity among the segments within the category. There are 2 charts, each with 5 categories. The categories are listed in their order of share of Total Pet $ – from highest to lowest.

• White, Non-Hispanic – This group has a 79.9+% market share in every Segment. Minorities account for 33.7% of CUs but only 15>20% of spending in any segment. Factors: Lower income for Hispanics and African Americans and lower Pet ownership in Asians and African Americans. Whites lost share in Total & in all segments but Supplies. Minorities gained in Total by different paths. Hispanics: ↑Food & Vet; African Americans: ↑Food & Services; Asians: ↑ Services only.
• 2+ People in CU – 2+ is still the key in pet ownership. However, the results were mixed. Singles had less CUs but gained share in Total & the Product segments. 2+ CUs had the opposite pattern. 2 People only gained in Veterinary & 4 people only in Services. 5+ People gained in both Service segments. Once again, 3 People CUs was the only size to gain share in Total and in every Industry Segment but 2 People still has the biggest share in all.
• Homeowners – Homeownership is very important in Pet Ownership and subsequently in all Pet Spending. It also increases with age. In 2023, Total & the Product Segments are below 80%. In 2022 it was only Supplies. The group lost 1.6 % in Total Pet share. The loss was driven by big drops in Food & Vet by those w/Mtge, despite a 4.7% gain in Services. W/O Mtge were only up in Vet. Renters gained share in all but Services – the opposite of Homeowners.
• Suburban & Rural – They gained 0.1% in Total Pet. Gains in Supplies & Services overcame drops in Food & Vet. The Suburbs 2500> gained share in all but Supplies. Rural had the exact opposite pattern. Center city was down in Total Pet and only up in Food & Veterinary.
• Over $70K Income – INCOME MATTERS MOST IN PET SPENDING! Income has grown in importance, and all segments, but Food performed at 140+%. $70K> gained 3.2% in CU share and 2.4% in Total. They had gains in every segment. Food: +0.6%; Supp: +1.1%; Serv: +2.2%; Vet: +6.3%. Spending appears more balanced in income for all segments but Veterinary. However, the situation is more complicated. Consider this: The only income group to gain in all segments was $200K>, but <$40K gained 5.2% in Food share. As I said, spending is complex, especially in Food.

• Everyone Works – Income is important, but not always the # of Earners. The group’s share fell for Total & Food. It was not a good year for 2 & 3 Earners – down in Total & 3 of 4 segments. 1 Earner, Singles gained in all but Services. Supplies are now 70+%, but it was not enough overall. However, Services is again 120+% and now joined by Supplies
• All Wage & Salary Earners– Incomes vary widely in this group, so performance is often lower. The group gained 0.6% in CU share, but lost share in Total Pet and all segments but Veterinary. The drop was driven by Managers and Service Workers. Both were down in Total and 3 of 4 segments. Tech/Sls/Cler had the best year with the exact opposite pattern. Blue Collar also contributed to the share loss as they were down in Total, Supplies & Veterinary.
• Married Couples – Marriage is 1st in importance to spending in Food, 2^nd in Total & Supplies, 3^rd in Veterinary but falls to 4th in Services. In 2023 their share & performance fell in Total, Food & Vet but grew in Services & Supplies. The best performer inside the group was CUs with a child 6>17. Outside of the group, it was Unmarried, 2+ Adults.
• College Graduates > – College Grads rebounded from their 2022 drop but not enough to make up for the huge drop by Associate’s. These were contributing factors in the decision to change this group back to College Graduates only. College Grads gained share in all but Supplies. The biggest gains were in Vet & Services. They are near their 2021 share in both of these segments, but still -5% in Total, -7% in Food & -12% in Supplies. Education has gained importance. It is again #2 for Total and both Services segments but is only #5 for Food & #8 for Supplies.
• 35 to 64 yrs – Includes the 3 highest income segments. They lost share in Total Pet and Food, stayed even in Supplies & Vet and gained in Services. They are still above 60% for all but Food & Total. The <60% shares were due to a huge spending lift in Food by the 65> group which pushed 65>74 to the top in share. Pet Food is definitely more balanced by age group, but this is likely a 1 time event. Because 35>64 is the leader for 3 of 4 segments, I stayed with them.

Now we’ll look at the Best/Worst performers in each category. Highlighted cells are different from Total Pet; * = New Winner/Loser; ↑↓ = 5+% Performance Change from 2022. The categories are divided into related groups. 1st, Income

• Income – Income matters. All winners were $150K> and unchanged from 2022. The disparity between 1st and last place in Total fell by 15%. Veterinary was -6% but Food disparity fell -27% due to gains by <$40K. The gap in Supplies grew by 3% but Services was 26% bigger. More balanced spending in Food but much less balance in Services.
• # Earners – The highest income 3+ Earners group fell from the top in 3 segments. They were replaced by 2 Earners in Vet & Services. The most impactful changes were in Food which drove disparity down -32% & even -18% in Total. Disparity increased only 8% in Services but it grew by over 23% in both Supplies & Veterinary.
• Occupation– Mgrs & Professionals are #1 in CU income and expenditures, but they were replaced by Self-Employed as best performer in the Product segments. Blue Collar & Service Workers both picked up another bottom spot. The spending disparity decreased by 9% in Total, 27% in Services, 16% in Food but only 1% in Supplies. Only Veterinary had an increase but it was substantial, +33%.

Next are demographics of which we have no control – Age, Generation and Racial/Ethnicity

• Racial/Ethnic– White Non-Hispanics are the top performer in all segments and African Americans are on the bottom in all but Food. They have the lowest income and only 25% own Pets. High income Asians did replace them in Food, but they also have low Pet ownership. Total Disparity was -4% but mixed among the segments. Food: -11%; Supplies: +18%; Vet: +6%; Services: -6%. Food continues to be more balanced, but Vet disparity is again over 100%.
• Age – The 45>54 yr-olds no longer “rule”. They were replaced by older groups. The bottom is even older. Only <25 in Services is not 75+. The Total disparity fell -12%. 2 Segments were down – Food: -14% & Vet: -42%. 2 Segments were up – Supplies: +14% & Services: +18%. Some big swings, but again only 1 is over 100% – Services. In 2022, it was Vet.
• Generation – Gen X still “rules”, all but Food. Gen Z is still at the bottom in Services while Born <1946 is the worst in the others. Disparity was -8%. Food (-17%) & Vet (-13%) were down. Supplies (+15%) & Services (+15%) were up.

In the next 6 categories, we have at least some control

• Education – Higher Education generally correlates with income. The winners are College Grads while the losers are HS Grads or less. The Disparity gap rose +3%. Food: -18%; Supp: -9%; Vet: +26%; Serv: +45%. Services rely on income.
• CU Composition – 9 of 10 best/worst are different from 2022. Except for Food & Vet, married w/kids wins. The loser is Single Parents for all. Disparity rose 7%. -10% drops in Products couldn’t overcome 15>29% increases in Services.
• CU Size– 3 People won all but Services (4) while “1” remained solidly on the bottom. Disparity was down only -0.1%. There was an increase in Veterinary but drops in all others. All changes were small.

• Housing – The perennial winner and loser. Disparity fell -6%. Food (-13%), Supp. (+2%), Vet (-15%), Serv (+24%).
• Area– Another perennial winner & loser. The disparity dropped -3% for Total, Food (-2%), Supp (+27%), Vet (-19%) and Serv (-2%). The most notable change was the big lift in Veterinary spending in Center City areas.
• Region – Midwest & West swapped spots 3 times. The South is at the bottom in all Segments. Disparity rose +10%. Food (+5%), Supp (+15%), Vet (+12%) and Serv (+7%). Big changes are unusual for this lowest disparity category.

Here are the categories with the biggest & smallest disparities for Total Pet & each industry segment.

The fact that income produces the biggest spending disparity is no surprise. Pet spending is driven by income. The low Food Income disparity and the Regional “wins” reflect a growing balance in spending in some categories. In Area Type, Services spending is expanding beyond high population areas while Veterinary spending is now growing in Center City.

Now, here are two summary charts. The first compares the averages.

Services & Supplies disparity grew while Vet was essentially stable. A big drop by Food drove Total down. The disparities for all but Service & Supplies are below 2019 levels. Food has the lowest disparity for the 3^rd  straight year. The gap grows as you move from needed to discretionary. Services is again on top & have the only gap over 100%. The Vet disparity also grew slightly but it fell to 3rd highest. Total Pet is down 5% from 22 & 21% from 21, much more balanced.

• Food – Down 14% from 2022, 30% from 2019, but 159% from the 2020 binge. They are the most balanced.
• Supplies – The record 2021 increase produced a record disparity. The lift in 2023 pushed them 9% above 2019.
• Veterinary – Their 2021 lift increased the difference to 100+%. Despite The 2023 lift, they are still below 2019.
• Services – Only a small $ lift in 2023, but the gap widened by 11%. They are again the only segment over 100% .

This chart shows the number of new winners/losers.

There was more turmoil than in 2022, but Food again led the “pack” with nearly half of the winners & losers changing as their spending exploded in 2023.

• With a record $6.81B increase in 2023, the turmoil in Pet Food continued with 11 changes. However, there were more new winners than losers – the opposite of 2022.
• Supplies spending grew in 23 and the # of changes rose from 5 to 8. Winners: 5 up from 4; Losers: 3 up from 1
• The Veterinary lift was also big and the # of changes jumped to 9 from 4.
• Services growth slowed but the # of changes was again 4. However, there were no new losers in 23.

Now, let’s look at the Demographic Segments with the Biggest Changes in $. We’ll truly see some differences between the Industry Segments. We have color highlighted differences from Total Pet. Plus:

• ↔ = Winner/Loser same as 2022
• ↕ = Flipped from 1^st to Last or vice versa

First, the Income related categories.

• Income – 3 winners & 5 losers were new with 1 flip. 4 winners are over $100K but no losers. All losers were below average income, 4 <$50K. It looks like the win by <$30K in Food was accomplished by trading Vet $.
• # Earners – All but 2 are new with 2 flips. In Vet & Services, the winner & loser were driven by income. In Products, it was the opposite pattern. In Vet, both flipped. In Total Pet, all segments spent more. This produced an unusual result. The highest income group had the smallest increase while the 2^nd highest income was the “winner”.
• Occupation – No repeats and 6 flipped. Retirees won Total (flip), Food (flip) & Services. The high income, Mgrs & Professionals had 2 flips – to the top in Vet & to the bottom in Food. Tech/Sls/Clerical lost Services but flipped to the top in Supplies. Blue Collar had 20+% lifts in Food & Services but even bigger drops in Vet & Supplies which drove them to the bottom in those categories and Total.

Now the Age and Racial/Ethnic Categories

• Racial Ethnic – 4 repeats & 4 flips. White, non-Hispanics won in all for the 1^st time since 2014. African Americans flipped to the bottom in Supplies & Vet. Asians lost in Food & Total – with the smallest increase. Hispanics lost in Services. Overall, it was a good year for Minorities, +24.3% in Total Pet $. Whites were +12.3%.
• Age – 1 repeat and 3 flips. There were 3 different winners but 4 were over 55, 1 more than 2022. In 2023, 45>54 was the big loser. They lost Food & flipped from 1^st to last in Vet and Total with the smallest increases. There were 3 different losers. 55>64 lost in Supplies. The 25>34 yr-olds lost Services. This is not surprising as they had a 43% lift in 2022. <25 had a great year with lifts in all segments, but they are by far the smallest segment. They didn’t win in $ but they had the biggest % lift in Supplies, Veterinary and Total Pet.
• Generation – 1 repeat & 2 flips. Millennials reinforced their importance with wins in Food and Total. The high income Gen X won the more discretionary Supplies & Services but flipped to the bottom in Food. Boomers were 2^nd in Total & Food but won in Vet. The oldest group, Born <1946, retained their spot at the bottom in Total and added Vet & Services. Gen Z didn’t win but they increased spending in all segments, 50+% in all but Non-Vet Services.

Now, here are more Demographic Categories in which the consumers can make choices.

• Education – 1 repeat & 1 flip. Higher education is usually tied to increased income and pet spending but not always. It was a strong year for College Grads with wins in all but Supplies. HS Grads w/some College won Supplies while Adv. College Degree lost again. HS Grads lost Vet but after a big lift in 22, Associates lost Food, Services & Total in 23.
• CU Comp. – 1 repeat & 1 flip. CUs with no Children – Singles (products) & Married, Couple Only (all services & Total) won all segments. Except for Unmarried 2+ Adults in Services, the losers all had children. Married, Oldest Child 18> in Supplies & Vet. Single Parents in Food & Total.
• CU Size– 1 repeat & 2 flips. 4 different winners. 3 people was the only repeat, in Supplies. 2 People won Veterinary and Total Pet. There was no clear pattern in the winners. 4 people was the loser in all but Services (1 Person).

• Housing – 4 repeats & 3 flips. In all but Services, all segments spent more. Homeowners w/Mtges are on top in all. Renters lost in Services and had the only decrease on the chart. Homeowners w/o Mortgage lost in all other segments and Total. However, we should note that they increased spending in all 4 of their losses. Another thing of note is that this is the second consecutive dual flip in Supplies.
• Area – 5 repeats with 2 flips. The big Suburbs are the normal winner. They held onto the top spot in Services, Food & Total and flipped to the top in Vet. Rural, in Supplies, was the only other winner. Rural lost in every other segment and Total but finished last while increasing spending. Center City is the usual loser and they lost in Supplies with the only spending drop. They also tied for last in Food with Rural but they did it with a $1.86B increase in spending.
• Region – Again no repeats but 4 flips. The West won the needed segments – Food & Vet while the Northeast won the more discretionary Supplies & Services, plus Total Pet. The Midwest, 2022’s big winner, lost Vet but spent more. The South finished at the bottom in all other segments and Total.

The next chart compares the number of repeats, “flips” and new segments among the 12 winners and 12 losers for each industry segment. The idea is to look for patterns in the data that cross segments. Let’s take a look.

• All were up. Food & Vet $ had big lifts while the Supplies & Services increases were small.
• After 2 record increases, Services $ slowed to +8.5%. However, they again were the repeat leader (7, down from 13)
• With big turnarounds in spending, Supplies (9) and Veterinary (13) had the most flips. 62% of Vet flips were last to 1st while 56% of Supplies flips were 1^st to last. Services had 2 flips, up from 0 in 2022. Food had a big drop in their numbers as they fell from 11 flips in 2022 to 4 flips in 2023.
• Total Pet also shows increased stability. 4 repeats, up from 3 in 22. Only 3 flips, down from 10 in 22.
• There are 24 winners/losers. Here’s the number different from 22. (last yr vs 21) Food: 19 (22); Supplies: 20 (23); Vet: 23 (21); Services: 17 (11); Total: 20 (21). Any change in growth pattern causes turmoil at the segment level.

Next, there were so many positive contributors that in each individual report we recognized 6 segments that didn’t win but still performed so well that they deserved Honorable Mention. I reviewed that list again and came up with segments that won Honorable Mention at least twice. Here are the 7 “SUPER Honorable Mentions” for 2023…

7 segments made the list, 2 less than 2022. Supplies & Total Pet tied for the lead with 5 segments on the “Super” list. Veterinary had 4 and Food & Services had 3. All segments on this year’s list are generally “low profile” but contributed notably to the industry. We should give special kudos to Gen Z and No Earner, 2+ People CUs. These 2 groups won Honorable Mention in 3 Industry segments and Total Pet.

Although the results were mixed, with numerous individual changes, here are some trends of note:

1. Older Youth Movement – Boomers must inevitably fade. The Gen Xers had a not so great year but are still the CU spending leader in Total Pet and all segments but Food. Spending is skewing towards their older, wealthier members and young Boomers. Millennials had a strong year and are close behind. Gen Z is definitely “in the game”.
2. The “Magic” number is 3 – As spending has skewed younger the best performing CUs in all but Services have 3 people. Services’ best is 4. However, 2 person CUs still have the largest share of CU’s, 33.1% and 100+% performance in Total Pet and every segment. They’re not done yet.
3. Improved spending balance in Food – The performance gap between the best and worst narrowed in Food & Total Pet. It widened in all other segments, but only by 1% in Veterinary. However, the disparity is still less than in 2019 for all but Supplies & Services. So “needed” segments are the same or better. Discretionary segments are worse.
4. Income is still the most important factor – The gap between best & worst narrowed in Total, Food & Vet, but grew in Supplies & Services. The disparity is still the biggest of any category.

And Finally, What you have all been waiting for…

THE ULTIMATE 2023 PET SPENDING CUs – Side by Side

Color Highlighted cells are different from Total Pet; * = New in 2023

Methodology – The segments are chosen because they have the highest annual CU spending of any segment in the category. They may or may not have the most total dollars. That would depend upon the number of CUs in the group.

Final Comment – These “winners” further reinforce the key factors in increased pet spending:

Marriage– A commitment to another person demonstrates that you can make a commitment to your pet “children”.

CU Size – The “magic” number is 3 for Total & all segments but Non-Vet Services, where it is 4.

Homeownership/Area – Owning and controlling your own space has long been a key factor in Pet Parenting.

More space – Small suburbs near a big metro area offer the convenience of the city, plus room for more pets.

Income Matters Most – High Income, A High Paying Occupation, A Formal after HS Degree, Everyone works with 2+ Earners. These are characteristics present in all of the Ultimate Pet Spending CUs.

Generation/Age – Gen X rules all but Food – Boomers. Age is skewing older to the oldest Gen Xers or younger Boomers.

Region – Take your pick – Midwest or West, just not the Northeast or South.

I hope that this Visual Comparison helped you to get a “satellite view” of Pet Industry Spending in 2023. Please refer back to the individual segment reports to get more details.

There is one consistent winner in the Pet Industry…

…OUR PET CHILDREN