- More than half (56%) of people are pet parents[1],
with 47% of these as first-time owners
- More than one-third (37%) of pet parents consider their furry
friend the most important thing in their lives
- Cat ownership is more common than dog ownership globally, with
more men (52% male vs 48% female) being cat owners
- Mars is launching its first-ever Global Adoption Weekend- an
event supporting the company's ambition to find every pet a healthy
and happy home
LONDON, Oct. 2, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- Mars Incorporated, a global leader in pet care
products and services, confectionery, snacking and food and the
maker of some of the world's most-loved brands, has revealed the
results of the world's largest pet parent study today.
With insights from over 20,000 pet parents (dog and cat owners)
across 20 countries, the Mars Global Pet Parent Study shows the
significant influence of pets on our lives, delving into the
evolving needs of pet parents, including generational differences
in ownership, the most common breeds and new insight into the pain
points pet parents around the world experience today.
With pet ownership known to be on the rise and people
considering pets one of the most important things in their lives,
the results signal a new era of pet parent centricity, where the
emotional connection between a pet parent and their pet is stronger
than ever.
Ikdeep Singh, Global President of Mars Pet Nutrition,
comments: "Almost half (47%) of those surveyed are
first-time owners, signalling a new era of pet parents. We know
that pet parents are evolving, and we need to evolve with them,
which means embedding pet parent centricity into our DNA to
transform the experience and build lifelong relationships with the
455 million pets and pet parents we reach."
To ensure every pet has a happy and healthy home, and as part of
the company's ongoing purpose: A BETTER WORLD FOR PETS, the study
launches in tandem with the first ever global Mars Pet Adoption
Weekend. Mars Pet Adoption Weekend will take place in twelve
countries across Europe,
Asia, South America and North America, to celebrate new pet parents
and encourage more adoptions across the world.
With over one billion pets globally, we're becoming a pet
obsessed world
Pet parents are clearly devoted to their pets, with more than
one-third (37%) of dog and cat owners considering their pets the
most important thing in their lives. The percentage is even higher
amongst Generation Z (Gen Z) (45%) and Millennials (40%).
There's a preference towards kittens and puppies too: 84% of
dogs and cats are acquired before the age of 12 months. The most
commonly owned global dog breeds are Labrador (6%), Chihuahua (6%), and Golden
Retriever (5%), and the most commonly owned global cat breeds are
Persian (16%), British Shorthair (11%), and Siamese (9%).
Today, cat ownership is more common than dog ownership globally,
with more men (52% male vs 48% female) being cat owners. The
decision to get a pet is greatly influenced by those around us with
family (26%) as the primary influence, followed by friends (21%),
social media (13%), online search (13%), and veterinarians
(11%).
Dogs and cats play pivotal roles in our lives. Of those
satisfied with their pets[2], dog owners appreciate
unconditional love (50%) and family completeness (49%), while cat
owners appreciate the entertainment (48%) and stress relief (44%)
their four-legged friends bring. However, being a pet parent also
brings challenges: 32% feel guilty about leaving their dogs and
cats alone, and only 42% find their neighborhoods very
pet-friendly, with a further 26% of pet parents claiming they find
the idea of traveling with their pets demanding /
challenging.
Since launching the BETTER CITIES FOR PETS™ program in 2017,
Mars has created a range of programs around the world to help
cities become certified as pet-friendly, so more people can enjoy
the benefits of a life with pets. Similarly, earlier this year, the
Mars brand CESAR® partnered with Tripadvisor to launch a new pet
travel hub in the U.S. to connect pet parents with the resources
and guidance to travel with their pets.
Singh continues: "As the world's leading pet care
company, we're always working on the next big thing in pet
parenting, using the insights from this study to continuously
innovate and adapt to solve pet parent pain points. Pet parents
aren't born – they become, which is why we must ensure they have
the advice, guidance and support they need along every step of
their journey."
The first-ever Global Mars Pet Adoption Weekend
For 16 years, Mars and its family of pet care and veterinary
health brands including PEDIGREE®, IAMS™, ROYAL CANIN®, with
additional support from PEDIGREE Foundation, along with its
snacking and food brands, have come together for Mars Pet Adoption
Weekend.
This year, Mars Pet Adoption Weekend will be hosted globally for
the first time, with twelve countries participating during one of
the two weekends in October. These include Brazil, Canada, China, France, India, Japan,
Malaysia, Mexico, Thailand, The
Philippines, the UK, and the U.S.
With pet ownership known to be on the rise, there is more
opportunity than ever to ensure pets living in shelters or on the
street find loving homes. Considering the undeniable joy pets can
provide and the fact that only 11% of dog owners across those
countries surveyed adopt from shelters, Mars is spotlighting the
importance of the company's ambition to end pet homelessness, by
celebrating new pet parents and encouraging adoption across the
globe.
Mars Pet Adoption Weekend will support pet adoption worldwide
through various activities including financial contributions to
shelters, adoption events, volunteer activities and other
awareness-raising events.
Ikdeep Singh, Global President of Mars Pet Nutrition,
concludes: "With an estimated 362 million homeless cats and
dogs globally[3], it's our job to find innovative ways
to remove barriers to pet adoption, connecting with pet parents at
the start of pet parenthood so they can find a perfect four-legged
companion that will bring love and joy to their daily lives. As we
launch our first-ever global Pet Adoption Weekend, we reaffirm our
commitment to our purpose: A Better World for Pets - a mission that
has been at the heart of Mars for nearly 90 years."
REFERENCES
NOTES TO EDITOR
About the survey
- This survey was commissioned with Ipsos by Mars,
Incorporation
- Online survey in 20 markets with more than 20,000 dog/cat
owners and non-owners (with a minimum of 500 cat parents and 500
dog parents in each market). Markets included:
- Canada, U.S., Mexico,
Brazil, South Africa, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain,
Turkey, Poland, India, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, China, Japan,
Australia, New Zealand
- Cat and dog parents are defined as people (aged 18-65) who are
responsible for the decision making or care of their cat/ dog
(including its feeding, health, and overall well-being). This
involves the commitment to provide for the pet's needs throughout
its life. The cat/ dog had to be domestic or tamed and kept in
a household primarily for non-commercial purposes.
- The online sample includes some rural coverage but is likely to
be over-representative of population for urban area:
- Total surveyed n=57,756
- Total interviewed about their cat/ dog n=21,106
- Total dog owners n=10,551
- Total cat owners n= 10,555
- Total dog non-owners n=34,890
- Total cat non-owners n= 37,687
- Quota sampling tailored for each market was applied to ensure
that the age, gender and regional profile of both cat and dog
owners each reflected the national proportions of these
demographics in that market.
- Gen-Z: 18-27 y.o.; Millennials 28-43 y.o.; Gen X: 44-59 y.o.;
Baby Boomers 60+ y.o
- Data reported at a global level reflects the mean result across
all the countries where the survey was conducted. It has not been
weighted to reflect the population size of each country.
- Fieldwork was conducted between 1st March –
4th April 2024
- Ipsos contact: Victoria Edmonds
(victoria.edmonds@ipsos.com)
ABOUT MARS, INCORPORATED
Mars, Incorporated is driven by the belief that the world we
want tomorrow starts with how we do business today. As a $50bn+
family-owned business, our diverse and expanding portfolio of
leading pet care products and veterinary services support pets all
around the world and our quality snacking and food products delight
millions of people every day. We produce some of the world's
best-loved brands including ROYAL CANIN®, PEDIGREE®, WHISKAS®,
CESAR®, DOVE®, EXTRA®, M&M's®, SNICKERS® and BEN'S ORIGINAL™.
Our international networks of pet hospitals, including BANFIELD™,
BLUEPEARL™, VCA™ and ANICURA™ span preventive, general, specialty,
and emergency veterinary care, and our global veterinary
diagnostics business ANTECH® offers breakthrough capabilities in
pet diagnostics. The Mars Five Principles—Quality, Responsibility,
Mutuality, Efficiency and Freedom—inspire our 150,000 Associates to
act every day to help create a better world for people, pets and
the planet.
For more information about Mars, please visit www.mars.com. Join
us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube.
*One billion pets statistic in headline -
source: Euromonitor data 2024
[1] Pet parents refer to dog and cat owners
surveyed in 20 markets
[2] Those who gave a satisfaction score of at least 7
out of 10 (95% for dogs and 94% for cats)
[3] 1 in 3 pets are homeless according to new
global report, August 2024
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