Nearly a half of UK pet-owners have changed their shopping habits during the coronavirus crisis.
In a survey of more than 500 cat and dog owners, conducted by the Tailster Pet Panel, 43% said they had changed their ‘typical’ behaviour and shopped ‘ elsewhere’.
The biggest shift has been from retail stores to online, with Amazon achieving the biggest gains, followed by direct-to-consumer brands and own-brand web shops, and then Pets at Home and Fetch/Ocado.
Online convenience and perceived safety are not the only driving force behind the change in behaviour, however, with around 26% of people choosing to ‘shop local’ and support small independents.
CHEAPER
“Disruption has also been felt in terms of brand choice, with 36% of pet owners feeding a different brand than usual,” a spokesman for Tailster said. “While for the majority of these (80%), their preferred brand was out of stock, interestingly we are already seeing purchase intent change in readiness for the next few months, with 11% switching to a D to C brand that is readily available and nine per cent switching to a cheaper brand as worries about household income become a reality.
“Looking ahead these patterns look set to continue, as the normal dynamics of the pet food market are flipped, with a massive 70% of pet owners reconsidering their chosen pet food brand, with 42% of these owners looking for a food that is readily available online, and 35% of owners already looking for a cheaper brand.”
The Tailster Pet Panel pet-focused data panel more than 50,000 fully-opted-in pet-owners on hand to respond to ‘brand needs’.
