By all accounts, the industry, which saw a huge boost as households adopted pets during the pandemic, continues to see strong demand. Pet food sales for the four weeks ending February 26 (latest available) increased 12.7%, according to the most recent data from Nielsen. Dog and cat food sales increased by 12.3% and 15.8%, respectively.
Pet supply sales rose a solid 6.9%, led by cat litter and pet toys.
“I’m not an economist. It’s my job to be prepared if there’s a recession. We go from history. And history is that the pet industry has been one of the most resilient of all industries.” Petco CEO Ron Coughlin said in a new episode of Yahoo Finance Presents.
Here are some other signs that the pet spending boom that began during COVID-19 is very much alive and well.
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Petco crushes your room
The pet products retailer reported in early March that fourth-quarter sales were up 13% from a year earlier. Adjusted operating profit increased 16%. The company achieved its seventh consecutive quarter of double-digit percentage sales growth.