Pet Age’s 2026 State of the Pet Industry report gathered data from American Pet Products Association and Circana, a global market research firm. The results offer a ground-level view of market conditions and emerging trends from consumer demand to supply chain realities. They allow pet manufacturers and retailers to understand the current landscape, identify opportunities and achieve better growth in the current business climate.
Full of bright graphics, the main stories from the data include:
- A migration away from food toward health and wellness
- Millennial and Gen Z ownership is up year over year
- Accelerating generational feline ownership growth, spending on non-consumables noted, cat litter anchors the feline category
- A look at birds, reptiles and fish categories
Source: Pet Age, October 2026. Link.
INSIGHTS: Understanding trends in the OTC retail business is important as the veterinary channel seeks to improve pet owner willingness to adhere to responsible pet health care. The shift toward preventative care has been reported and is showing up in products being introduced to the OTC market.
Sixty-five percent of pet care buyers shop in stores and online, and those omnichannel shoppers account for nearly 85 percent of pet care spending <Link>. A related report from the UK shared that of pet owners in the 25 to 34 age group, 52 percent visited their local pet shop at least once a week <Link>.
For veterinary teams, knowing and engaging with local OTC pet supply are increasingly important to learn what those influencers are saying and selling.” – Kirk Augustine
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