A Solid Market Footing, Pandemic Notwithstanding

As of April 2020, the U.S. pet industry has been battered by the coronavirus pandemic for over a month. Currently undermining business operations in the pet industry and beyond are:

• the number of coronavirus cases and casualties climbing every day
• unemployment claims skyrocketing due to business cutbacks and closures, stay-at-home orders, and social distancing
• daily gyrations across international stock markets

Combine this with the employment uncertainty—highlighted by the nearly 17 million (and still growing number of) unemployment claims filed by mid-April—and even the recession resistance of the pet market will be challenged throughout 2020, although the federal stimulus package intended to jump-start recovery will likely mitigate losses to some degree, notes our sister publisher Packaged Facts in the new report Reptile Products: U.S. Pet Market Trends and Opportunities.

Not knowing how long the medical coronavirus crisis will last, how severe the economic fallout will be, or how much the pandemic will alter relationships between domestic and world markets, it is hard to predict the impacts on the U.S. pet industry. Nevertheless, numerous societal and demographic factors at play in the market are likely to remain in force during and after the crisis, suggesting the business is on firm footing for recovery after the pandemic.

For more information, see our sister publisher Packaged Facts’ coverage of the pet industry.