It is difficult, if not impossible, to say with certainty exactly how many pets there are, but statistics show that there are just over 800 million dogs and cats kept as pets worldwide. Dogs are the most popular pet, but the number of cats is gaining ground and is growing faster than the number of dogs. The number of pets and households with pets has grown steadily for many years, a trend that accelerated with Covid-19 when companies switched to working from home, many were quarantined and spent more time at home. For many, it has been a stressful and lonely time and many consumers have therefore bought a pet as a company.
For aspiring pet owners, the extra time at home has meant an opportunity to have time to raise and take care of their new pet. In the US, 10% reported in December 2020 that they had acquired a new pet*, an increase of 3 percentage points compared to May when 7% stated that they had acquired a new pet. The number of newly registered dogs in Sweden increased by 14% in 2020 vs 2019 and in December the increase was as much as 40% compared with the year before. Needless to say- the pet industry is ever-changing and therefore we have pulled 8 fun facts about the pet industry:
- 81% of dog owners in the UK give their pets birthday presents or Christmas presents
- 44% would rather cuddle with their pet than with their partner
- 29% think that their pets are better at cuddling than their life partner
- 70% of pet owners say that their pets have helped them reduce stress. Furthermore, 73% believe their lives have been given a new meaning.
- More than half of pet owners state that they would rather spend time with their pet than their partner
- Owning a dog reduces the risk of death from a heart attack by 36%
- Studies on students have shown that petting a dog or cat for 10 minutes a day helps reduce cortisol levels in the body, and thus stress
- Senior pet owners make 30% fewer hospital visits than peers without pets
*Sources:
https://petpedia.co/pet-statistics/
APPA; May to December 2020; >2 000; Both pet owners and non-pet owners were surveyed; Online survey
