The Chinese love pets like never before. According to the latest reports, China's pet product industry has seen tremendous growth, with online shopping playing a major part in boosting domestic sales.
Growth was lifted by the desire of the tech-savvy younger generation to buy high-end, imported pet food and other items such as toiletries and medical care products and services via e-commerce platforms.
Based on a study by e-commerce giant JD.com and global data analytics company Nielsen, consumer groups born after 1985 and after 1990 account for 40.5 percent of online pet care transactions, and those pet owners are willing to pay more for quality, as imported products are considered healthy and secure.
The report noted that the majority of online purchases of pet products are made by individuals and women, particularly as marriage and birth rates decline.
Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, and Shenzhen are the top five cities that are spending big on pet products online, the study showed.
Sales of pet food - the largest segment in the pet industry - were up from 28 billion yuan in 2015 ($4 billion) to 59.5 billion yuan last year.
The study also noted that the largest online buyers of dog and cat food and related services are single people, while the majority of owners of aquatic animals and exotic pets, such as chickens, mice and rabbits, are married.
During the latest Singles Day shopping bonanza, JD.com announced that high-end and high-tech pet products had brisk sales.
Sales of insect repellents and health products for dogs fell 243 percent year-on-year, and cats' litter box sales rose 232 percent.
Zhang Qiang, a Roland Berger China partner, said pets have become increasingly popular, especially among empty nesters and individuals, groups that are also big buyers of high-end pet products and services.
According to Zhang, the wide array of pet products, quality assurances, convenience, and precise digital marketing strategy has made online buying a big avenue for Chinese pet owners.
Based on reports by the National Statistics Bureau, after the United States and Japan, China has become the third-largest pet market.
A report published this year by market research firm Frost & Sullivan also showed that sales from China's pet industry rose to 172.2 billion yuan in 2018.
Market experts said they expect further development of China's pet industry along with the growing number of pets and pet owners' increasing purchasing power. The market for pet products in China is projected to reach 472.3 billion yuan by 2023.
