Pet economy continues to expand in China

China's pet consumption market has shown great vitality as the size of the urban pets (dogs and cats) market reached 279.3 billion yuan ($39.1 billion) in 2023, an increase of 3.2 percent over 2022, People.cn reported on Thursday.

Urban residents' general demand for pets has brought pets into thousands of households. The continuous improvement of living standards has also made pet owners pay more attention to the personalized needs of pets.

Experts said, changes in the pet market come from changes in people and society, and demographic structures, consumption levels, social environments, policy orientations, and mental health are all important driving forces for the continuous growth of the number of pets and the size of the pet market.

With the rapid increase in the number of pets, people have also begun to pursue the improvement of their pets' happiness and quality of life. The changes in the concept of pet raising makes people willing to invest more money and care in order to meet the needs of their pets. The overall consumption of pets shows an upgrading trend toward higher end products and services.

The industrial chain of the pet industry covers the whole life cycle of a pet, from the perspective of clothing, food, housing, transportation, medical treatment, play and other anthropomorphic needs. Its industrial chain almost covers the entire consumption track. Experts have said that in the future, the demand for creative services related to pets will become increasingly obvious, and how to meet the new needs of pet owners such as pet friendly design, elderly pet care and smart pet equipment will become new fields in the industry.