the pet market | Italy

1.1 Definition and scope of study

The term pet refers to animals that are fed, managed, regulated (for reproduction) by humans. The opposite of domestic animal is the wild or feral animal. There are two categories of pets:

·      Pets that are kept in the house 

·      Livestock or farm animals that are raised on farms to produce milk, meat, eggs, etc

This study focuses only on the first category. In common language this term refers to dogs, cats, rabbits, fish and small birds.

The global pet industry has grown rapidly as a result of more people adopting or buying animals as members of their household. The most flourishing markets are America and Europe, but Asia is also developing rapidly. 

As for Italy, the market has grown strongly during the period of the pandemic. During and after the first lockdown it is estimated that 3.5 million Italians have bought a pet, while the adoption market has grown by 15% compared to the previous year. Consequently, all related markets such as the pet clothing market (+256% in January 2021 compared to the previous year), or the veterinary items market (+61% in March 2021 compared to the previous year) have also increased significantly.

The pet adoption market is estimated to grow considerably for the next few years for both dogs and cats but equally for fish and rabbits. Market trends are primarily a strong digitization of services, making it possible to adopt and buy additional services directly online from the platform of the breeder or seller. In addition, it is estimated that there is a more consistent use of social media as a form of advertising for individual pet breeders and sellers.