Walmart leads in pet-owning shoppers: report

Of 67 million pet-owning households in the U.S., two-thirds do any type of shopping at Walmart or Sam's Club, with Walmart alone claiming 43 million pet-owning households in its customer base, according to Packaged Facts’ U.S. Pet Market Focus: Walmart as Competitor.

Walmart's pet-owning customer base is significantly more than the total of three other leading mass marketers — Target, Costco and Kroger. These three retailers combined have a customer base of about 35 million pet-owning U.S. households.

According to David Sprinkle, Packaged Facts’ research director, “Overall, Walmart enjoys impressive strength in shopper traffic/shopping trips, offering almost unbeatable one-store shopping convenience, making it possible for pet owners to pick up non-pet products, along with pet products of all stripes, in the same place. And pet product customers are clearly a growth engine for Walmart.”

When choosing a preferred pet products provider, the report says, consumers are most apt to weigh factors related to pricing, but factors related to convenience and brands/selection are also important. Less relevant are factors related to retailer staff and in-store services. And while the ability to order online is relevant, other factors related to emerging online ordering trends make less of an impact. In short, said Sprinkle, Walmart satisfies much of what pet owners seek in a retail experience.

Related:Wagging the dog: Amazon disrupts pet market with new brand

Packaged Facts estimates that more than a third of Walmart pet product purchasers report buying more pet products from Walmart than a few years ago, while less than 10% report buying less, and almost half are buying about the same amount. By demographic, adults in the influential and increasingly powerful Gen Z and Millennial age bracket (18-34 years old) are especially likely to report buying more products from Walmart than they did a few years ago.