Amazon’s pet sales reach a new high

More customers are making pet product purchases at Amazon — a practice that has increased category sales by 40%.



This was according to “U.S. Pet Market Focus: The Amazon Pet Food and Supplies Shopper,” a study from Packaged Facts.



Pet products are among the fastest-growing online retail categories — and Amazon’s sales are a key contributor. The category has seen 45% growth over two years in the percentage of adults making pet product purchases online in the past three months. Amazon is leading the charge with $2 billion in pet category sales 2016. This was up 40% from 2015.



Over the course of three years, Amazon's purchase usage penetration among pet owners has grown 19% to 32%, surpassing Petco's user breadth (25%) and encroaching on PetSmart (32%). Further, the share of pet owners purchasing from Petco and PetSmart who also purchase from Amazon has also grown. At least 36% of Petco and PetSmart users now shop at Amazon, a percentage share almost inevitably on the uptick, forecasted Packaged Facts.



Amazon is also capitalizing on a critical growth trend in the U.S. pet market. Further, it has the potential to become an even more formidable presence in the e-commerce pet market segment than it already is, according to the study.



"The fact is online sales of pet products are at a tipping point," said David Sprinkle, research director, Packaged Facts. "For all players—brick-and-mortar, multichannel, and online-only alike—the good news is that the market itself continues to grow.”



He added, “However, the sheer size of the Amazon user base, coupled with its aggressive growth, huge Amazon Prime membership base, burgeoning ability to meet any and every product need within that category, and an Amazon Prime value proposition that is very hard to beat make Amazon both very threatening and very intriguing."