Never Enough Dogs (or Dog Toys)

You would think that people who have already owned many dogs would not necessarily be buying new toys as often as someone who has only owned one dog. However, it does not seem to matter how many dogs people have had previously (and by correlation, how many toys and chews might already be in the house). Over the last 12 months, purchase percentages are quite even across the number of dogs owned for purchasing new dog toys, with toy purchasing percentages from a low of 72% of dog owners who have owned seven dogs to 86% of dog owners who have owned ten dogs or more, according to Dog and Cat Toys: U.S. Pet Market Trends and Opportunities, a new report by Packaged Facts. [Figure 1]

On the other hand, chew purchasing percentages display a noticeable drop in percentage of dog owners who bought chews as the number of dogs increases to six or more, but then spikes back up to the highest percentage of those purchasing chews for people who have owned ten or more dogs. Purchasing percentages for chews purchased in the last 12 months range from a low of 40% of dog owners who have owned nine dogs to a high of 67% of dog owners who have owned three dogs.

Purchases made in the last 30 days show a greater range of percentages than purchases in the last 12 months, with both dog toys and chews purchased in the last 30 days showing the same trends seen in chews purchased in the last 12 months. The largest percentage of dog owners purchasing both toys and chews was people who had owned three dogs, with a noticeable drop in the percentage of owners buying toys and chews for people who have owned six to nine dogs.

The first interesting point on these graphs is the spike in percentage of dog owners who have owned ten or more dogs in terms of willingness to buy more toys and chews for their dogs. The other interesting point is that toys continue to be more popular for purchasing than chews. Whether this is because the chews are designed to be more hardy and so do not need to be replaced as often, or that the toys are simply more appealing to dog owners, is not clear, but an interesting question to pursue.

For more information on this segment of the pet toy market, check out Packaged Facts’ report Dog and Cat Toys: U.S. Pet Market Trends and Opportunities. The report provides a considerable breakdown of these survey results as well as an analysis of marketers and sales of dog and cat toys.

-- by Norman Deschamps