Packaged Facts: Pet ownership on the rise faster among multicultural consumers

ROCKVILLE, Md. — Multicultural consumers are expected to be a key driver in strengthening pet ownership rates in America in the future, according to “Pet Population and Ownership Trends in the U.S.,” a recent report by market research publisher Packaged Facts.



“Changes in the population of dog owners have begun to mirror shifts in the U.S. population as a whole,” said Packaged Facts research director David Sprinkle. “Dog owners remain predominantly non-Hispanic white, but growth in the population of dog owners is coming mostly from Latinos, Asians and other multicultural population segments.”

 

More than 200 million pets of all types live in American households, and nowhere is pet ownership on the rise faster than in the homes of the nation’s multicultural families.



Between 2004 and 2014 the population of Hispanic dog owners nearly doubled from 7 million to 13 million and the number of Asian dog owners more than doubled from 1 million to 3 million, according to the report. Latinos alone accounted for 36% of the growth in the number of dog owners, while the multicultural population segment as a whole was responsible for 55% of the growth.

 

Beyond canines, Hispanic pet owners in particular are a consumer segment influencing other pet segments. Latinos are disproportionately important to the pet industry as owners of birds and they have made a significant contribution to maintaining ownership rates among cat owners.