< Market Research

Pet Insights Council

CRC’s Pet Insights Council provides market research reports about the pet retail industry, including specialty retailers like Petco, PetSmart, and Chewy.com. To add greater context to what we’re seeing in the channel, we track trends across pet retail shoppers and veterinarians by surveying key groups and vet clinics.

Get In Touch
dog on blue background - pet industry market research - crc

Pet industry market research to help you navigate shifts in the channel and adapt your business plan

Through our conversations with the most impactful pet category suppliers, retailers, brokers, and distributors, our team discovers and tracks shifts in the channel. We combine these conversations with real-time data to craft detailed sales forecasts and retailer traffic updates. This feedback helps decision makers plan their businesses at the largest pet retailers and target accounts that are likely to outperform the market over the near and long-term.

pet consumer surveys - market trends - dog food bowl - crc

Consumer surveys that add greater context to key pet industry market trends

We survey hundreds of pet parents semi-annually to add context to the trends we’re seeing across the retail industry. Our pet industry surveys help identify inflections in shopping behavior as we build upon years of consumer data, which further highlights how customer preferences change and how these changes may impact your category. We’re here to tell the whole story on a particular theme, retailer, or end market.

Dog and Cat - Pet Industry Market Research Reports - Trends & Analysis - CRC

Explore the benefits of a pet insights partnership

One-on-one expert engagement

With a CRC partnership, you’ll gain unlimited access to our pet industry research analysts. Whenever you have a question, we’ll provide real-time solutions founded on what we’re hearing in the channel.

Research & reports

Our pet industry research includes sales forecasts, retail traffic trends, thematic reports, and consumer surveys. Market research customers have access to the Partner Portal, where you can download today’s updates or search across the research library.

Bi-annual webinars

We host two webinars each year to talk through the biggest trends impacting the pet category and what it means to retailers, shoppers, and the veterinarian. You’ll walk away with action items and best practices for handling future pet retail business.

Pet Insights Council FAQs

Our pet industry market research points to value-oriented accounts like Walmart and dollar stores that are expected to outperform the total pet consumables market for the foreseeable future. Between numerous pet industry trends—trade down to value retail formats, trip consolidation, opening price-point momentum, and value-oriented private brand offeringsit appears that consumers are likely to continue to gravitate toward accounts that cater to those looking to stretch their budgets. Pureplay eCommerce accounts like Amazon and Chewy appear well positioned to capitalize on the convenience and subscribe & save opportunities that the digital channel offers, while the omnichannel pet specialty accounts seem to have limited upside in the near-term.

Our pet industry market research points to available supply being likely to remain constrained across several key brands through the next 12 to 18 months. There appears to be a shortage of available capacity, as well as lingering raw material and labor issues. We also believe some of the shifting pet consumer preferences for lower-tier food products present a unique challenge to keep up with sustained elevated demand in dry food categories.

Pet categories have historically been the most resilient among major retail departments, as pet parents increasingly view their pets as part of their family and prioritize pet health / wellness at least as much (if not more!) than their own. While pet consumer behavior has appeared resilient during this latest inflationary cycle, we are seeing signs of trade down mostly from mid-tier food products to more opening price point items. Latest behavioral changes are largely attributed to the significantly higher product cost inflation that consumers have had to endure.

Our pet industry market research points to ongoing share shift from vet clinics to online providers. We are seeing more pet retailers attempt to roll out new solutions to gain a piece of this growing pie, as well as new solutions within the vet channel to prevent this shift. Through CRC reports on pet industry trends, we provide manufacturers key insights to help determine winners and losers, responses from the vet, and the overall pace of change in pet pharmacy.

Request a sample report

How can your business prepare for consumer shifts in the pet channel and navigate changes in demand? Click to request a sample report and connect with our Pet Insights team.