04.27.15
Millennials aren't having kids—they're having puppies—and their preference for babies that bark could have implications for personal care manufacturers. While the overall rate of pet ownership has held fairly steady, going from 53% of U.S. households to almost 54%, from 2010 to 2014, according to a new study by Packaged Facts, the age bracket from 18-44 (Millennials and Gen Xers) represents a combined 27 million pet owners as of 2014, or almost 2 million more than the next major bracket (45-64, essentially Baby Boomers). Pet ownership has shown marked gains among Gen Y adults over the past few years, as ownership rate was just 50% as recently as 2010 but reached 59% in 2014 and was as high as 66% in 2012.
Even more impressive, older Baby Boomers are still pampering their pets even as they approach 70. According to Packaged Facts, Boomers are poised to be the pet industry's most influential demographic group. Boomers have broken the historical pattern of slacking off in pet ownership as they age, according to the research company. Instead, they have superimposed their proclivities toward health/wellness and self-pampering onto their pets. In and of itself, this is very good news. But the news gets even better in that Boomers are rapidly aging into the senior bracket (the oldest Boomers turn 69 in 2015). If Boomers' "rule-breaking" behavior with regard to pet ownership continues, the result will be robust pet market participation in the senior cohort, where pet ownership rates have historically been far below average.
That's all good news for marketers and suppliers of pet care products; and could provide some opportunities for personal care marketers who make products gentle enough for babies—and just maybe, gentle enough for labradoodles, too!
Even more impressive, older Baby Boomers are still pampering their pets even as they approach 70. According to Packaged Facts, Boomers are poised to be the pet industry's most influential demographic group. Boomers have broken the historical pattern of slacking off in pet ownership as they age, according to the research company. Instead, they have superimposed their proclivities toward health/wellness and self-pampering onto their pets. In and of itself, this is very good news. But the news gets even better in that Boomers are rapidly aging into the senior bracket (the oldest Boomers turn 69 in 2015). If Boomers' "rule-breaking" behavior with regard to pet ownership continues, the result will be robust pet market participation in the senior cohort, where pet ownership rates have historically been far below average.
That's all good news for marketers and suppliers of pet care products; and could provide some opportunities for personal care marketers who make products gentle enough for babies—and just maybe, gentle enough for labradoodles, too!