Scaring Up Profits From Pets

October 30, 2013: Scaring Up Profits From Pets

Halloween is tomorrow. And while it is too late here to discuss Halloween trends (though apparently, like last year, there’s been a surge in plus-size costumes), there are lessons to learn that can be applied outside of the spooky celebration.

Time magazine reports in its current issue (a snippet only is available online if you’re not a subscriber) that the National Retail Federation is predicting Americans will spend $330 million on Halloween costumes for their pets this year, about three times as much as we spent in 2010.While it’s too late for you to capitalize on the costume trend this year, it indicates Americans are still spending big on their pets. In fact, the American Pet Products Association estimates pet-related revenues this year will hit $55.5 billion.

I’m not going to get into whether you should or shouldn’t subject your family pet to wearing a costume, but, if you couple this trend with the fact that pet ownership in general is on the rise and, according to Time “pet ownership is morphing,” it should give you some insights into the potential of this market.

The magazine quotes two college professors, one of whom says “people are more likely to carry pictures of their dogs in their wallets than pictures of their children.” And that to me is a truly frightening thought.