No CommentsPet supplies are a big — and growing — business for brands that sell on Amazon, as an increasing share of consumers are bringing a pet into their lives. In fact, 18% of Americans adopted a new pet during the pandemic, including 24% of existing pet owners. With Americans looking to care for new and existing pets, spending on pet supplies is on the rise.
Eighteen percent of consumers are buying more pet supplies compared to last quarter, according to the Jungle Scout Q1 2022 Consumer Trends Report. To purchase pet-related products, 15% of consumers are shopping through Amazon.
In honor of National Pet Day, we’re digging into the data to see if cool cats or top dogs brought in the most sales on Amazon last quarter. Keep reading to find out.
Keyword Trends for Pet Essentials
Pet products have been on the minds of consumers, as search volume for “pet supplies” on Amazon has risen by 4% over the past month, according to Jungle Scout Cobalt data. Searches for “dog supplies” have also grown by 4%, while searches for “cat supplies” have dropped by 14%.
Dogs must be more active than restful, as searches for “dog beds” have declined by 7% over the past month. However, pets are looking forward to dinner time: searches for “dry dog food” have jumped by 19% and searches for dry cat food have risen by a more moderate 2%.
Dog and cat grooming has been top of mind for consumers, as searches for “dog shampoo” are up by 6%, while queries for “cat shampoo” rose by a comparable 5%.
Dogs 🐶 vs. Cats🐱
Pet parents purchase a wide array of products to care for, nourish, and entertain their dogs and cats. Read on to find out if dogs or cats generated more revenue on Amazon for food, toys, collars, beds, digs, and grooming supplies.
Pet Food
Consumers turn to Amazon for treats to advance their pet’s health or training. In Q1 2022, dog treats brought in under $148 million in revenue, and cat treats generated over $30 million. While revenue for dog treats far surpassed revenue for cat treats, sales of cat treats were up by 13% from Q4 2021 while sales of dog treats declined by 7%.
Sales of this package of natural dental care treats for dogs soared by 4,602% between Q4 2021 and Q1 2022.
Conversely, sales of these tuna and salmon treats for cats jumped by 5,581% over the same timeframe.
For more substantial nourishment, consumers turned to Amazon to provide meals for their cats and dogs. Dry dog food generated just under $250 million in revenue, while dry cat food brought in just over $72 million. While sales of dry dog food outpaced dry cat food, revenues for dry dog food increased 12% between Q4 2021 and Q1 2022, and revenues for dry cat food increased by 10%.
Revenue for this bag of dry dog food climbed by 2,745% quarter-over-quarter.
And revenue for this bag of dry cat food with salmon rose by 100%.
Beyond bags of dry food, consumers purchased canned food for their pets. Canned cat food brought in just over $32 million in revenue last quarter, as canned dog food brought in a bit over $22 million in revenue. Revenue for canned cat food was up by 13% from Q4 2021, while revenue for canned dog food was up by 12%.
Revenue for this pack of canned dog food surged by 835% quarter over quarter.
And revenue for this pack of canned cat food surged by 34,975% quarter over quarter.
As cats dominated sales of canned pet food, and canines were the top dogs of the dry food and treat categories, we call a tie between dogs and cats for the pet food category.
Toys & Fun
Pet parents shopped on Amazon to entertain their cats and dogs – and enrich their minds. Dog toys brought in nearly $48 million in revenue, outpacing cat towers’ approximately $26 million in revenue. Pet parents might have stocked up on pet toys in previous quarters, as revenues for dog toys were down by 33% from Q4 2021, while revenues for cat toys were down by 31%.
Sales of this dog puzzle were up by 173% quarter over quarter.
And sales of this cat toy were up by 62%.
While sales of the above cat toy and dog puzzle both increased over the past 90 days, dogs dominated sales of toys by millions in revenue. As a result, we name dogs the winner of this category.
Collars
Collars are a must for dog and cat owners, who turned to Amazon to purchase this essential pet care item. Dog collars brought in just under $16 million in sales, far exceeding cat collars’ just over $4 million in revenue. Sales of dog collars were down by 14% quarter over quarter, while sales of cat collars were down by 27%.
Sales of this tactical dog collar were up by 16% over the last 90 days quarter over quarter.
And sales of this leather cat collar were also up by 100% quarter over quarter.
Leashes are also a must-have for pet owners. Dog leashes produced more than $8 million in revenue during the quarter, while cat leashes generated just under $2 million. Revenues for dog leashes were up by 11% quarter-over-quarter, while revenues for cat leashes were up by a whopping 517%.
Sales of this dog leash with padded handles were up by 192%
And sales of this cat harness and leash were up by 100%.
With revenues collars and dogs for dogs far exceeding those for cats, we name dogs the winner of this category.
Rest & Relaxation
Dogs and cats also need a place to relax, and consumers turned to Amazon to purchase a place for their pets to unwind. Dog beds brought in just under $45 million in revenue, which was far above cat beds’ approximately $2.5 million. Sales of dog beds were down 11% quarter over quarter, while sales of cat towers were down 20%.
Sales of this jumbo dog bed for large canines were up by 100% quarter over quarter.
And sales of this cat bed were also up by 100% quarter-over-quarter.
As revenues for dog beds as a category far exceed those for cat beds, we name dogs the winner of this category.
Houses & Towers
Cats and dogs need a place of their own, and pet owners have been shopping on Amazon for their digs. Outdoor dog houses brought in just over $1.5 million in revenue, while cat towers produced just over $3 million in revenue. Revenues for outdoor dog houses were down by 44% quarter over quarter, while sales of cat towers were up by 86%.
Sales of this dog house were up by 573,704%.
And sales of this cat tower were up by 529,544%.
While the above cat towers and outdoor dog houses both saw astronomical growth, revenues for cat towers far outpaced those for outdoor dog houses. We name cats the winner of this category.
Pet Grooming
Consumers also turned to the everything store to buy products to keep their pets fresh and clean. Dog shampoo brought in just over $15 million in revenue, while cat shampoo only generated just over $1 million in revenue. However, cat shampoo revenues increased 2% quarter over quarter (a small miracle considering that cats are not a fan of water!), while dog shampoo revenues declined by 22%.
Sales of this deodorizing shampoo for dogs were up by 100% quarter over quarter.
And sales of this cat shampoo were up by 164% quarter over quarter.
Even though sales of the above dog shampoo and cat shampoo increased quarter over quarter, revenues for dog shampoo far outpaced those for cat shampoo. We name dogs the winner of this category.
Pet Product Reviews
Parents of dogs and cats are about equally likely to leave reviews for products that they purchase on Amazon. Between March 21 and March 27, 2022, the dry dog food category garnered 855 reviews on average, while the dry cat food space generated 891 reviews on average. Similarly, the dog treat category produced 706 reviews on average, while the cat treat market brought in 652 reviews on average.
Dog parents and cat parents alike can leave feedback about what works and doesn’t work with purchased items — and some even show off their creative side:
This reviewer purchased a dog puzzle to challenge his canine as he waits for Mensa to give his border collie “a proper IQ test.”
And this reviewer bought a catnip mice toy for their pet, Dracula.
Price
Dog parents are a bit more willing to spend money on their pets than cat parents, as dog products tend to go for a higher average price than cat products on Amazon.
In the period spanning between March 21 and March 27, 2022, dog treats had an average price point of just under $21, while cat treats had an average price of just under $16. Similarly, dog shampoo went for an average of just over $17, while cat shampoo retailed for an average of just below $15.
However, cat parents were willing to spend a bit more on cat towers than dog parents on outdoor dog houses. Cat towers had an average price of just under $63, while outdoor dog houses went for approximately $50.
National Pet Day Winner
So do dogs or cats win this pet bowl? We crown dogs as the winner for this quarter. Revenue for dog products far exceeded cat products for Q1 (with the exception of canned food and pet digs). Dog and cat parents are about equally likely to leave reviews on their Amazon purchases; however, dog parents are willing to spend more on their pups as dog products tend to have a higher average selling price than cat products.
8 Tips for Amazon Brands to Capitalize on Consumer Pet Spending
Brands can take a number of steps to capitalize on the pet spending craze and sell more pet supplies on Amazon.
Here are a few tips from the owner of Bontog, a dog collar brand on Amazon:
- Tip 1: “Keywords are critical to receiving organic traffic on Amazon. The easiest way to see which keywords should be in your listing is to use a tool like Jungle Scout, which shows you exactly the text you should include in your listing and how hard it will be to rank organically.”
- Tip 2: “All categories have competition. But, it’s possible to set yourself apart by making your product different than the others on the market. For instance, I had my supplier add extra padding inside my dog collar and also added a heavy-duty buckle. Suppliers will often work with you if you order a minimum quantity.”
- Tip 3: “I’ve been surprised at how well Sponsored Display has worked for my dog collars. It has performed even better than Sponsored Ads. The lesson is to try multiple advertising channels to see which one works best for your product.”
— Michael Scheschuk, Chief Marketing Officer of Jungle Scout and Owner of Bontog
- Tip 4: To boost sales of pet supplies products, you can work to earn more reviews, which provide key social proof that gives customers the confidence to purchase your products. In fact, 92% of customers are more likely to purchase a product after reading a positive review. (Although, 57% of brands say that getting reviews is a challenge on Amazon.) Fortunately, tools such as Jungle Scout’s Review Automation feature enable you to automate Seller Central review requests.
- Tip 5: To increase your presence on Amazon, you can also expand your product catalog. By launching new products on Amazon, you can grow your market share in the pet supplies space. You can either start selling a product from your existing catalog on Amazon, or you can launch a completely new product (or variation on an existing product).
- Tip 6: Additionally, you can optimize your listings to help consumers find your products and have enough information to make an informed buying decision.
This listing for washable pee pads for dogs, for example, takes full advantage of the number of photos allowed per listing – six visuals, seven including the main image – among other optimizations. Beyond using all of the real estate available for imagery on your listing, you can harness infographics to optimize your listing.
Here are is a tip from one of the members of the Jungle Scout team behind the Million Dollar Case study, which brought the washable pee pads to market:
- Tip 7: Design and market your pet products to be used by any animal, as many shoppers buy items that are not explicitly marketed towards their type of pet. Our puppy pee pads have converted ad sales on the search term, “pee pads for pet pigs.”
— Jake Zaratsian, Jungle Scout Scriptwriter & Presenter
- Tip 8: Finally, it’s key to optimize your PPC ads to ensure that your product listings are top of search — and that pet parents can find your products instead of your competitors.
Methodology
The product data in this report is representative of the U.S. Amazon market. Market insights on Amazon products were sourced from Jungle Scout Cobalt, an industry-leading market intelligence and product insights platform powered by more than 1.8 billion Amazon data points every day. Quarter-over-quarter revenue increases are comparisons of the period of January 1, 2022 – March 31, 2022, to October 3, 2021 – December 31, 2021.
Contact [email protected] today to see how Jungle Scout Cobalt can help you explore sales data and provide strategic insights into consumer behavior on Amazon.