Australian Pet Parent Preferences Revealed
Announcement posted by VetShopAustralia.com.au 09 Jun 2020
“We were shocked to discover how many pet parents of pigs, pythons, parrots and all sorts of peculiar pets shopped at VetShopAustralia” head vet Dr Mark Perissinotto said.
“We can see them purchasing things from our online shop but just to see the numbers on paper, and all of the unique pets just came as a surprise. Never in my wildest dreams did I think we would one day be selling pet supplies to scorpion owners!”
Of the almost 2500 respondents to the online survey, 5% of pet parents owned some rather unique pets including tarantulas, centipedes and even a freshwater mussel.
Overall though, it was the dogs that came out on top, with over 55% of survey respondents reporting that they owned at least one dog. second most common group were the owners of both cats and dogs with just shy of 30% of respondents and cat owners made up 10%.
“Digging deeper into the data, we noticed a few trends around the ages of our average shopper, how they preferred to shop online, whether that be on their mobile phone or a computer, and what our customers said were things that mattered to them when they were choosing a business to purchase their pet supplies from,” Digital Marketing Manager Naomi Szabo said.
“All of this data is crucial for us to understand the needs and wants of our customers and helps us to prioritise the things they say are important because ultimately the customer is at the centre of everything we do as a small business” Ms Szabo said.
Unexpectedly, the survey also identified some interesting data around parasite protection. “It was a little disappointing”, Dr Mark says, “to see pet owners admit that they have never purchased basic products like flea and tick preventatives or wormers for their pets.”
One result that was not surprising was that 50% of respondents describe their pet as their best friend forever.
“We know that people’s relationships with their pets has changed a lot over the years. Pets were pets, many years ago, then there was the furbaby trend, and now pets are people’s best friend.” Dr Mark said.
“Here at VetShopAustralia, we believe that pets are all of these things, and more! Which is why we are launching our #MoreThanPets campaign on June 8 which will showcase our amazing pets, why they are so special to us and the important jobs that some have. We also want people to show off their pets and tell us what makes them More Than A Pet.”
“People can win their pet a year's worth of pet food if they upload a photo or video and tell us why their pet is so special them. We also want to show our support for rescue groups around the country so we will be running a competition where people can vote for a deserving rescue and 10 lucky groups will receive a huge care pack full of nutritious food donated by Royal Canin and all of their flea, tick and worming products thanks to Simparica and Revolution Plus.”
Customers should visit www.vetshopaustralia.com.au/more-than-a-pet-campaign to meet the four incredible feature pets of our campaign and for their chance to win a year’s worth of pet food.