Tails of the unexpected: PDV unveils pet owner cohorts

It seems the old idiom of a dog being man’s best friend needs a radical overhaul as these days nearly all pets are not just seen as friends; they have become deeply embedded within modern lifestyles, emotional wellbeing and identity.

That is according to a new whitepaper by PDV “The Changing Face of Pet Ownership”, which claims that while the estimated £12bn a year sector has changed, many marketers are still playing catch up, triggering major opportunities – and challenges – for brands, retailers, insurers charities and veterinary organisations.

Drawing on proprietary data that PDV has access to, and profiling analysis across more than 3.3 million UK pet households, the report identifies five separate cohorts of pet owner: city pace families, rural wanderers, space rich families, everyday families and retired owners.

Each is shaped by different life stages, income levels and emotional relationships with their pets, and each with different needs when it comes to nutrition, healthcare and convenience.

However, the report also highlights a widening gap in the market. A growing wellness culture has pushed premium nutrition, preventative healthcare and wellbeing-focused products into the mainstream, while cost-of-living pressure is increasingly affecting affordability, vet visits and insurance uptake for some segments of pet owners.

PDV associate director Melanie Wynne, who is author of the whitepaper, said: “Pet ownership has changed and grown significantly over the past decade but marketing to pet owners hasn’t necessarily caught up.

“Understanding the different lifestyles behind pet ownership is what is going to separate the brands that grow in this space from those that get left behind. That’s exactly the gap this whitepaper and its analysis is aiming to help close.”

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