Marketing in the pet industry is shaped by rapid category growth and how different segments choose products. Globally, the market is valued at $258.6B in 2024, with niche segments like pet CBD reaching $1.0B. In the U.S., 85.7 million households own pets, and shoppers rely on mobile social media, reviews, and online research as they compare treats, toys, and more.
Key Takeaways
- 2024 global pet care market size of $258.6 billion (i.e., total market value used for industry sizing)
- $1.0 billion global pet CBD market size in 2024 (i.e., segment market value for CBD pet products)
- 85.7 million U.S. households own a pet (i.e., penetration of pet ownership in households)
- $6.9 billion U.S. pet spending on treats in 2024 (i.e., annual treat category spending)
- 93.4% of global social media users access at least one social platform via mobile in 2024.
- 52% of U.S. cat owners report they spend money on pet toys/entertainment (i.e., share buying toys/entertainment for cats)
- 48% of U.S. pet owners say they use social media to research pet products/services (i.e., proportion using social channels for pet-related research)
- 1.0% average email click-through rate across industries (i.e., typical CTR benchmark)
- 73% of marketers say they measure marketing performance using KPIs (i.e., measurement prevalence for marketing analytics)
- 70% of marketers use marketing automation tools to support lifecycle communications.
- TikTok had 170.7 million average monthly active users in the U.S. in 2024 (marketing reach context).
- 58% of U.S. consumers report buying pet food online, according to a 2024 Consumer Insights survey by Packaged Facts (reported via industry coverage)
- 73% of pet parents say they are willing to pay more for brands that they trust (2024 survey result reported by retail/trade research)
- 63% of U.S. pet owners say they would recommend a pet brand based on positive experiences (2024 consumer research reported by Pet Food Industry coverage)
- 78% of consumers say they search for product reviews before making purchase decisions, according to the 2024 BrightLocal Local Consumer Review Survey
With $258.6B in global pet care and 85% of marketers using social, pet brands can win through mobile research, reviews, and trusted experiences.
Related reading
01 · Category
Industry Trends10 stats
01
85.7 million U.S. households own a pet (i.e., penetration of pet ownership in households)
02
$6.9 billion U.S. pet spending on treats in 2024 (i.e., annual treat category spending)
03
93.4% of global social media users access at least one social platform via mobile in 2024.
04
85% of marketers use social media for marketing in 2024, indicating broad cross-channel expectations for pet brands.
05
71% of consumers say they are more likely to make a purchase when brands provide personalization.
06
97% of marketers believe video content is important for their business.
07
32% of U.S. dog owners prefer grain-free dog food, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association’s 2021 market research summaries of pet nutrition preferences (AVMA page content accessed via a deep link)
08
35% of U.S. cat owners prefer wet food, according to the same AVMA nutrition preference materials (updated summaries)
09
27% of marketers cite “measuring ROI” as a key challenge, according to the 2024 Social Media Marketing Industry Report by Hootsuite (industry research)
10
1,701,000,000 monthly active users use Facebook (2024 average monthly active users reported in Meta’s Q4 2024 results; not pet-specific)
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
With 85.7 million U.S. households owning pets and marketers heavily prioritizing modern engagement tools like 97% who say video is important and 85% who use social media, the industry trends point to pet brands winning by delivering personalized, mobile-first experiences that match how consumers and platforms actually drive purchase decisions.
02 · Category
Performance Metrics6 stats
01
1.0% average email click-through rate across industries (i.e., typical CTR benchmark)
02
73% of marketers say they measure marketing performance using KPIs (i.e., measurement prevalence for marketing analytics)
03
70% of marketers use marketing automation tools to support lifecycle communications.
04
76% of companies report using marketing analytics to some degree to inform decisions, according to the 2024 Marketing Analytics Adoption report by the Data & Marketing Association (DMA) (industry research)
05
22% of marketers run A/B tests monthly as a standard optimization practice, according to the 2024 CRO/Experimentation survey by Invesp (industry research)
06
29% of marketers say they use incrementality testing (e.g., geo-lift) to measure causal impact, according to the 2024 Incrementality Benchmarks report by Experian
Interpretation
Performance Metrics Interpretation
Performance measurement in pet industry marketing is widely adopted, with 73% of marketers using KPIs and 76% reporting some marketing analytics use, yet optimization and causal proof remain less common at 22% running monthly A/B tests and 29% using incrementality testing.
03 · Category
Household Ownership5 stats
01
58% of U.S. consumers report buying pet food online, according to a 2024 Consumer Insights survey by Packaged Facts (reported via industry coverage)
02
73% of pet parents say they are willing to pay more for brands that they trust (2024 survey result reported by retail/trade research)
03
63% of U.S. pet owners say they would recommend a pet brand based on positive experiences (2024 consumer research reported by Pet Food Industry coverage)
04
48% of pet owners report shopping for pet products at mass retailers (2024 survey result reported by trade press)
05
3.2% of U.S. consumer expenditures (2023) were on “pets and pet-related services” according to BLS Consumer Expenditure survey-derived category series (pets and pet services)
Interpretation
Household Ownership Interpretation
From a household ownership perspective, pet parents are clearly value and channel driven, with 73% willing to pay more for trusted brands and 58% buying pet food online, showing that ownership creates both a strong loyalty mindset and a shift toward e-commerce shopping.
More related reading
04 · Category
Channel Mix5 stats
01
78% of consumers say they search for product reviews before making purchase decisions, according to the 2024 BrightLocal Local Consumer Review Survey
02
63% of marketers say they use paid social advertising, according to the 2024 Social Media Marketing Industry Report by Social Media Examiner
03
47% of marketers use webinars for lead generation, according to the 2024 Demand Gen Benchmark Report by ON24 (industry report)
04
41% of marketers plan to increase influencer marketing budgets in 2024, according to the 2024 Influencer Marketing Trend Report by Influencer Marketing Hub
05
61% of consumers say they use search engines to find product information before purchase, according to the 2024 Google consumer research (Think with Google)
Interpretation
Channel Mix Interpretation
In the pet industry’s channel mix, discovery and trust channels dominate as 78% of consumers search for product reviews and 61% use search engines before buying, while marketers increasingly lean on paid social (63%) and plan to grow influencer budgets (41%) to capture that intent.
05 · Category
Market Size2 stats
01
2024 global pet care market size of $258.6 billion (i.e., total market value used for industry sizing)
02
$1.0 billion global pet CBD market size in 2024 (i.e., segment market value for CBD pet products)
Interpretation
Market Size Interpretation
For the market size angle, the global pet care market is valued at $258.6 billion in 2024, and within it the pet CBD segment alone reaches about $1.0 billion, signaling meaningful room for growth in specialized offerings.
06 · Category
Industry Overview3 stats
01
52% of U.S. cat owners report they spend money on pet toys/entertainment (i.e., share buying toys/entertainment for cats)
02
48% of U.S. pet owners say they use social media to research pet products/services (i.e., proportion using social channels for pet-related research)
03
TikTok had 170.7 million average monthly active users in the U.S. in 2024 (marketing reach context).
Interpretation
Industry Overview Interpretation
With 52% of U.S. cat owners spending on pet toys and entertainment, 48% of pet owners using social media to research pet products, and TikTok reaching 170.7 million monthly active users in the U.S. in 2024, pet marketing is clearly being shaped by entertainment-driven demand and social first discovery.
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Catherine Wu. (2026, February 13). Marketing In The Pet Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/marketing-in-the-pet-industry-statistics
MLA
Catherine Wu. "Marketing In The Pet Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/marketing-in-the-pet-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Catherine Wu. 2026. "Marketing In The Pet Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/marketing-in-the-pet-industry-statistics.
Sources & references
31 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
+5 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)