Pet sector lagging online

 

dog_food_bagsAustralians are increasingly pampering their pets, but they’re not rushing online to shop for Mittens and Rex.

Local shoppers spend $1.8 billion on pet food each year, but only $18.3 million of this is being purchased online.

This translates to one per cent of the sector’s sales, compared to between 10 and 15 per of sales in the US, Germany, and UK.

The figure is markedly lower than the Australian online sales average, which encompasses all sectors, such as fashion and electronics.

Online sales represent 6.3 per cent of traditional retail spending in Australia, according to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistic figures.

One barrier to the sector’s online growth could be its alignment with grocery, which has been lagging behind fashion’s e-commerce boom.

Local pet retailer, PetBarn, has been pushing online the last few years and sells a wide range of pet foods on its website.

Pure play retailers have also been cropping up, including Boomerang Pet Food, which sells vet recommended products, such as Eukanuba.

Tim Hill, CEO of social media analytics provider, Social Status, says pet food retailers need to prove the “absolute advantage” of shopping online.

“Australia is definitely a nation of online shoppers,” he says.

“If online pet food retailers deliver convenience, a better purchasing experience and value, the growth of online pet food purchase could match that of the US.”

The local pet care sector has experienced an injection of high end services and retail concepts, as profiled last week by Inside Shopper.

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