(PRESS RELEASE) ROCKVILLE, MD — Dogs and cats are the furry darlings of the U.S. pet market, but the reptile business has advanced as well over the past decade and could grow considerably in coming years, market research firm Packaged Facts reports.
Reptile products are projected to grow from $495 million in 2019 to between $550 million and $650 million by 2024, depending on the depth and duration of coronavirus pandemic-triggered impacts on household finances and housing situations. That’s according to the firm’s just-released Reptile Products: U.S. Pet Market Trends and Opportunities. The figures include food and non-food supplies for pet reptiles including snakes, lizards and turtles as well as amphibians such as frogs.
Like dog and cat owners, reptile owners have strong ties to their pets: 85% of “other pet” owners, including reptile owners, consider their pets to be part of the family, according to the proprietary February/March 2020 survey data presented in the report.
“Reptiles as family suggests new opportunities for premiumization,” said Packaged Facts Research Director David Sprinkle, “including more expansive and diverse and visually appealing habitats, and supplies that increasingly echo what a reptile would experience in the wild.” Reptile ownership also synchs with the demographic shifts to millennial and urban households.
When pet care budgets are limited, reptiles may gain in appeal in being affordable compared with keeping dogs or cats, with most reptile owners viewing their reptile setups as a reasonable initial expense. The reptile business may also get a bump because of the heightened levels of comfort and affection pet owners are finding in their pets due to being home bound and social distancing, and because children are a key factor to the household ownership of reptiles, and children now more than ever need to be meaningfully entertained.
More than half of adoptions or acquisition of pets other than dogs or cats involve buying pets either for or at the request of children, according to Packaged Facts survey data. Households with children are therefore the top demographic for reptile ownership, with households with three or more children being more than twice as likely than average to own reptiles.