One of the most uplifting stories throughout this pandemic has been the increase in pet adoption. When a neighborhood stroll is the only thing to do, it’s nice to see several new puppies nipping at their leashes along the way.
Most news stories covering this boom have focused on dogs, and rightfully so. According to The Washington Post, “what began in mid-March as a sudden surge in demand had, as of mid-July, become a bona fide sales boom. Shelters, nonprofit rescues, private breeders, pet stores — all reported more consumer demand than there were dogs and puppies to fill it.” But this story is much bigger than dogs.
Adopting a pet plops you into a new market for products, services, and solutions you hadn’t considered – or even knew existed – before. Sure, you need a leash and a food dish, but what else is there? And what brands should you turn to? To slide in as the go-to brand for new pet parents, marketers must understand the human-level attributes driving pet adopters’ purchasing decisions.
We combed through our real-time database of proprietary consumer research to understand more about the people pining after pets.
1 in 10 Americans plan to adopt a pet in the next year
The AI-driven Resonate Ignite Platform™ projects that 22.5M Americans plan to adopt a pet in the next year. This is great news for companies selling pet products, services, and solutions.
So, who are these folks? For starters, those who plan to adopt a pet skew slightly female. They’re also on the younger side – half of the group is under 35 years old.
Source: the Resonate Ignite Platform™
But we need to look deeper than demographics to understand the nuances that differentiate pet adopters from those who do not plan to find a new best friend.
When we compare this group to the average American, there are some distinct personal values that Pet Adopters share. These insights are important to understand as a marketer because personal values are an underlying influencer of purchasing decisions and brand loyalty.
We can see that people who plan to adopt pets are 35% more likely to be driven by a strong desire to care for nature. These 22.5M are also driven by the desire to seek new and thrilling experiences, and typically have low patience for tedious tasks (like picking up after a pet). Finally, they are 29% more likely to be decisive and direct, and enjoy being assertive and solving challenging problems.
Source: the Resonate Ignite Platform™
As new pet-moms and pet-dads look to spoil their furry ones, make sure it’s with your brand.
Understanding consumers and their innate values help brands differentiate across more dimensions than product and price. Pet brands can capitalize on this uptrend in adoption by connecting with this audience’s values across messaging, product development, segmentation, in-store experience, and more.
The Resonate Ignite Platform™ gives you access to 13,000+ real-time insights on this audience and helps you reach them at scale, on the right channel, with the right message. Request a demo to see how our insights ignite results.
