Unleash Your Pet-ential

07/08/2023

Britain has always been a nation of pet lovers, relying on them for companionship and gaining a sense of fulfilment from needing to be needed. We want our pets to feel cared-for, comfortable and mentally stimulated. This is driving demand for pet gifting and providing a unique opportunity for businesses in a position to take advantage of the nation’s love of pets.

Over a quarter of pet owners admit they like to pamper their pets with animal-loving Brits spending a fortune on their furry friends; the average owner splurging £1,150 a year - or £95 a month. In total, the UK spends over £10 billion a year on their dogs alone and £8 billion on cats. 

While eight in 10 consumers have changed their grocery shopping habits to save money, new research shows only one in 10 pet owners have cut back on what they spend on their animals. It finds 42% spoil pets with treats even though their budgets are tight. 66% of owners buy accessories for their pets as well as birthday and Christmas presents while 32% buy treats and gifts more often for their pets than their partners.  

In the last 5 years spending on pet gifts has grown by £286 million with the average owner spending £264 a year on pet gifts. 88% of people admit to spending up to £50 on extravagant presents for their pets. 

Our love of our animals in the UK isn’t expected to diminish anytime soon, with the value of pet care products and services reaching £2.1 billion by 2023 – a 25% increase from an estimated £1.7 billion in 2018. This is hardly surprising given that 25% of the nation’s households now own a dog and 17% of households own a cat, amounting to 9 million dogs and 7.5 million cats in the UK at the last count. 

With such a huge amount of market potential for the pet gifting industry, now is the time to take advantage and expand your offering to include some products designed to meet the growing demand.

Xpres has a wide range of sublimation gifts, perfect for personalisation and creating the ultimate pet gift. What are you waiting for?  Take a look today