Rapid Growth of the Online Pet Supplies Market... Will COVID-19 Act as a Catalyst?

Euromonitor '2020 Pet Care Market Outlook'
Domestic Online Sales Share Reaches 52.8%
Surpasses Offline... Overwhelming
"COVID-19 Impact Expected This Year"

The photo is unrelated to the article.

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] E-commerce is also dominant in the domestic pet care market. True to its reputation as an online powerhouse, an environment where orders can be placed easily and delivered quickly has been established. In particular, since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) this year, the global reliance on online purchasing, including in Korea, has increased, which is expected to impact the pet care market as well.

According to the industry on the 1st, Euromonitor recently reported in its '2020 Pet Care Market Outlook' that the size of the domestic pet care market in 2019 was approximately $1.633 billion (KRW 1.944 trillion). Pet food (feed and snacks) accounted for 61%, and pet products (supplies) accounted for 39%.

In particular, the online sales share within the domestic pet care market reached 52.8%. This is significantly higher than the global online sales share of 15.7%. It accounted for the highest proportion compared to other channels, including offline. This highlights Korea’s status as an online powerhouse.

According to eBay Korea’s online shopping mall Gmarket, sales of pet supplies grew continuously for four years from 2015 to 2019, increasing by about 15%. In 2019, sales grew by about 2% compared to the previous year. The best-selling items were cat houses and cushions, which increased by about 73% year-on-year. Wet cat food increased by 64%, dog supplements by 42%, cat grooming and fashion by 24%, cat toys by 16%, wet dog food by 15%, ornamental fish supplies by 14%, bird supplies by 13%, dry cat food by 12%, cat supplements by 12%, dog snacks by 6%, and dry dog food by 3%, respectively.

Mungyeongseon, Chief Researcher at Euromonitor, said, "Since the COVID-19 outbreak, consumers’ needs to care for their pets’ health have increased, and consumers accustomed to online delivery have become more dependent on online purchasing," adding, "The online sales share of the pet care industry will increase even faster."

Meanwhile, Euromonitor forecasted that the domestic pet care market size in 2020 will reach approximately $1.729 billion (KRW 2.058 trillion). It is expected to enter the 2 trillion KRW range for the first time this year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.