Lizard & Fish Food See Inflation Reversal Year Over Year
Most pet owners can expect to pay more to keep their furry or feathered friends well-fed this year, according to new data from ecommerce accelerator Pattern. However, cold-blooded animals like fish and lizards were fortunate enough to see food prices drop year over year.
Why it matters: With pet ownership up since the start of the pandemic, more families are facing the rising costs associated with caring for their pets. Owners not only have their own grocery costs to worry about, but also the cost of their pet’s groceries. As International Pet Day approaches on April 11, we wanted to know just how much inflation will impact pet owner costs in 2023.
What we’re seeing: We analyzed pricing data for the most popular pet food products on Amazon U.S. from March 2022 to present. According to the data, most pet owners will expect to see moderate price increases for pet food this year:
- Dog Food prices increased by 14.86% year over year
- Rabbit Food +13.16%
- Cat Food +11.44%
- Bird Feed +9.14%
- Dog Kibble +9.71%
Yes, but: Some pet owners may see some relief at checkout this year, depending on the type of animal they have. Here are the pet food items that saw either no price change or experienced inflation reversal year over year:
- Hamster Food prices increased by 0.01% since March 2022
- Lizard Food -8.99%
- Fish Food -16.03%
Additionally: It seems pet owners may have an easier time keeping their pets occupied as pet toy prices saw a negligible average price increase of 0.90% year over year. Depending on the type of pet toys owners purchase, they may even save money:
- Bird Toys increased in price by 5.02% since March 2022
- Cat Toys -0.92%
- Dog Toys -1.40%
The takeaway: With grocery prices increasing for everyone, pet owners can expect to pay more to keep their furry and feathered family members well-fed. However, if consumers’ pets happen to be cold-blooded, consumers may save money compared to last year’s pricing.
Pattern’s data science team analyzed pricing data on Amazon every day of 2022 and 2023 so far to understand how economic forces are impacting the cost of pet ownership. If you’re interested in using insights like these to supercharge your ecommerce strategy, contact our team today.
