Customer Experience In The Pet Food Industry Statistics 2026

Eighty percent of customer service organizations will adopt AI solutions by 2025. Seventy eight percent of pet owners consider ingredient quality important when selecting food. The global pet food market reached 25.9 billion dollars in 2024.

Key Takeaways

$1.6 billion: projected global spend on customer experience (CX) software and services for 2022
71% of consumers expect companies to understand their needs and preferences
71% of pet owners say they bought pet food in-store or online in the past year (2023)
3.0% projected CAGR for the U.S. pet food market during 2024–2029
$25.9 billion global pet food market value in 2024 (forecast)
78% of pet owners say ingredient quality is important when choosing pet food (survey, 2023)
By 2025, 80% of customer service organizations will use AI solutions as part of their CX operations (Gartner forecast)
By 2026, 25% of organizations will use generative AI in customer service (Gartner forecast)
46% of customers say they will abandon a purchase if a site is slow (Google/Ipsos study, 2019)
An estimated 53% of website visits are abandoned if pages take longer than 3 seconds to load (Google)
25% of users abandon websites that take longer than 4 seconds to load (Akamai research)
58% of consumers say they have higher expectations for customer service than they did 2 years ago
63% of customers expect companies to resolve service issues on the first contact
1.2 million: number of pet-related complaints received by the Better Business Bureau (BBB) in 2023 (includes pet services/retail categories)
38% of customers say they prefer self-service tools over speaking with a human agent (when available)

Pet owners expect fast, personalized, AI enabled service, driving higher sales for brands that deliver great CX.

01 · Category

Market Economics1 stats

$1.6 billion: projected global spend on customer experience (CX) software and services for 2022

Interpretation

Market Economics Interpretation

The projected $1.6 billion global spend on customer experience software and services in 2022 underscores that customer experience in the pet food industry is becoming a major market investment area, reflecting strong economic momentum in this space.

02 · Category

Customer Value1 stats

71% of consumers expect companies to understand their needs and preferences

Interpretation

Customer Value Interpretation

With 71% of consumers expecting pet food companies to understand their needs and preferences, customer value is increasingly tied to personalization and real customer insight rather than generic products.

03 · Category

Market Size8 stats

71% of pet owners say they bought pet food in-store or online in the past year (2023)

3.0% projected CAGR for the U.S. pet food market during 2024–2029

$25.9 billion global pet food market value in 2024 (forecast)

$41.8 billion global pet supplies and services market value in 2024 (forecast)

$7.3 billion: U.S. online pet food and supplies sales in 2024 (projected)

15% of pet owners say convenience is the main reason they buy pet food online (survey, 2023)

Per the AAHA/AVMA report, 2022 U.S. households owning pets: 66% of U.S. households (approximately 86.9 million homes)

66.3% of U.S. households had a pet in 2023 (86.9 million households)

Interpretation

Market Size Interpretation

In the Market Size view of customer experience in the pet food industry, the global pet food market is forecast at $25.9 billion in 2024 and U.S. online pet food and supplies sales reach $7.3 billion, showing that sizable spending is shifting toward digital convenience where 15% of pet owners cite convenience as the main reason they buy online.

04 · Category

Industry Trends7 stats

78% of pet owners say ingredient quality is important when choosing pet food (survey, 2023)

By 2025, 80% of customer service organizations will use AI solutions as part of their CX operations (Gartner forecast)

By 2026, 25% of organizations will use generative AI in customer service (Gartner forecast)

60% of consumers say they want to use self-service options before contacting a person (Zendesk CX Trends survey)

Customers in the U.S. expect an average wait time under 5 minutes for customer service (Zendesk benchmarks, 2022)

The share of consumers who expect real-time responses increased to 50% in 2023 (Gartner CX research)

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) prohibits deceptive labeling practices; pet food labeling is regulated under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act)

Interpretation

Industry Trends Interpretation

In the pet food industry, customer experience is being reshaped by clear expectations such as 78% of pet owners prioritizing ingredient quality and 60% wanting self-service first, while service teams also face rising speed demands with real time responses expected by 50% of consumers in 2023.

Customer Experience In IndustryCustomer Experience In The Motion Picture Industry Statistics

05 · Category

Performance Metrics6 stats

46% of customers say they will abandon a purchase if a site is slow (Google/Ipsos study, 2019)

An estimated 53% of website visits are abandoned if pages take longer than 3 seconds to load (Google)

25% of users abandon websites that take longer than 4 seconds to load (Akamai research)

1.8x higher conversion rate for mobile pages with fast load times under 2 seconds (Google research)

Companies with above-average CX performance have 2.2x higher conversion rates than those with below-average CX performance (ForeSee)

In retail, 86% of companies use customer feedback to inform improvements; fewer measure CX impact with KPIs (Gartner customer feedback analytics)

Interpretation

Performance Metrics Interpretation

For performance metrics in pet food customer experience, the data is clear that speed directly drives outcomes with as many as 46% abandoning slow purchases and 53% of visits dropping when pages exceed 3 seconds, while fast mobile pages under 2 seconds deliver a 1.8x higher conversion rate.

06 · Category

Customer Expectations1 stats

58% of consumers say they have higher expectations for customer service than they did 2 years ago

Interpretation

Customer Expectations Interpretation

In the pet food industry, 58% of consumers now have higher customer service expectations than they did two years ago, signaling that customer expectations are rising and brands must keep pace.

07 · Category

Service Performance1 stats

63% of customers expect companies to resolve service issues on the first contact

Interpretation

Service Performance Interpretation

With 63% of customers expecting service issues to be resolved on the first contact, strong service performance in the pet food industry depends heavily on getting problem resolution right the first time.

08 · Category

Technology & Automation3 stats

1.2 million: number of pet-related complaints received by the Better Business Bureau (BBB) in 2023 (includes pet services/retail categories)

38% of customers say they prefer self-service tools over speaking with a human agent (when available)

26% of customers say they expect video support for customer service

Interpretation

Technology & Automation Interpretation

In the pet food industry’s technology and automation landscape, 38% of customers prefer self-service tools and 26% expect video support, while pet-related complaints totaled 1.2 million to the BBB in 2023, underscoring how automation channels are becoming essential to deliver faster, more convenient service and reduce friction.

report visual · Key figures

Customer expectations driving CX priorities in pet food

Consumers expect faster, more personalized support—especially quick resolution and real-time responses—so pet food brands that invest in CX (including AI and self-service) can better meet demand.

50%

The share of consumers who expect real-time responses increased to 50% in 2023 (Gartner CX research)

63%

63% of customers expect companies to resolve service issues on the first contact

60%

60% of consumers say they want to use self-service options before contacting a person (Zendesk CX Trends survey)

80%

By 2025, 80% of customer service organizations will use AI solutions as part of their CX operations (Gartner forecast)

46%

46% of customers say they will abandon a purchase if a site is slow (Google/Ipsos study, 2019)

71%

71% of consumers expect companies to understand their needs and preferences

source-verifiedgartner.com · gelato.com · zendesk.com · thinkwithgoogle.com · salesforce.com2025

Reference

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APA

Karl Becker. (2026, February 13). Customer Experience In The Pet Food Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/customer-experience-in-the-pet-food-industry-statistics

MLA

Karl Becker. "Customer Experience In The Pet Food Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/customer-experience-in-the-pet-food-industry-statistics.

Chicago

Karl Becker. 2026. "Customer Experience In The Pet Food Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/customer-experience-in-the-pet-food-industry-statistics.