NEWSWIRE: Shoppers’ Reprioritized Sense of Self Care Leads to a Rise in DIY Pet

Grooming

When hair and nail salons temporarily closed their doors during shelter-in-place ordinances
earlier this year, Americans looking to maintain their personal care routines had little choice but
to adopt a do-it-yourself (DIY) approach to beauty and self care. But this trend didn’t stop at the
human consumer level. As shoppers became more invested in their DIY routines, many pet
owners placed an added importance on maintaining their pet’s health and hygiene at home,
especially when temporary (and some permanent) business closures left consumers with few
other options.

Personal Pet Care Enters the Spotlight

More than 11 million U.S. households adopted a pet during the pandemic, according to the
American Pet Products Association’s (APPA) “COVID-19 Pulse” study. This sparked notable
sales growth across all pet care categories (i.e., pet supplies, pet food and pet treatments). Pet
supplies have been the fastest-growing category in pet care throughout the pandemic and pet
grooming has been one of the fastest growing segments within the category.

In tune with consumers’ recently developed DIY health and beauty habits, pet parents haven’t
limited their efforts to themselves, as many have familiarized themselves with at-home pet
grooming this year. While the sales growth rates for grooming necessities like brushes and
combs, grooming supplies, shampoo and conditioner have slowed since the peak purchasing
period back in May, sales remain substantially above pre-COVID levels, with total pet grooming
sales up 27.4% since the outset of the pandemic. This far outpaces the 3.2% growth generated
by the total pet care category.
As shoppers stocked up on what was newly deemed essential, increases in the average
number of units purchased per shopping occasion and average spend per buyer contributed to
pet grooming category growth. In addition to driving increased grooming sales, the pandemic
has boosted household penetration by 5.1% across all Nielsen tracked channels during the 52
weeks ended Oct. 31, 2020.

But there’s still a massive opportunity for retailers and brands to capture new buyers. According
to the APPA’s 2019-2020 National Pet Owners Survey, over 106 million households own a cat or
dog, but Nielsen Homescan data shows that only 12.3 million households purchased pet
grooming products in the year ended Oct. 31, 2020. To drive increased adoption, brands need
to educate consumers on the importance of personal pet care with comprehensive deliverables
that inform shoppers on how to maintain their pet’s health. By offering pet-friendly products that
make clear connections between consumers’ reprioritized sense of self-care and pet personal
care, brands and retailers will be able to tap into the large segment of households that have yet
to purchase within the pet grooming category.

Online Captures the Majority of Pet Grooming Purchases

Pet care products had strikingly high omnichannel adoption rates before the pandemic.
However, as COVID-19 pushed more than 18 million Americans toward the online CPG
landscape for the first time, e-commerce accounted for more than half (53%) of all pet grooming
dollar sales between April and September 2020, up 11 percentage points compared with
pre-COVID levels. Within this 53% figure, roughly 5% of e-commerce purchases were fulfilled
via click-and-collect, but click-and-collect sales heavily declined after the peak pandemic
purchasing period in May. By offering exclusive in-store savings, special click-and-collect
promotions, in-store product education and contactless payment and pickup methods, retailers
can entice online shoppers to visit brick-and-mortar stores and convert additional sales.
Pet grooming shoppers will become further entrenched in their online shopping habits into the
‘new normal’ and e-tailers need to enhance their customers’ shopping experience through
easy-to-use personalization tools as consumers continue to seek out convenience. While pet
shoppers continue to shift toward the omnichannel landscape, retailers need to create
comparable experiences both in-store and online by providing diverse product assortments,
offering promotional sales and price points to accommodate different budgets and educate
consumers on pet personal care needs. Retailers should focus on their omnichannel capabilities
and make products available through multiple vehicles like home delivery, subscription services,
click-and-collect and curbside pickup—all of which will become even more appealing amid rising
COVID-19 cases.

Personal care brands are offsetting losses through pet product lines

The total pet grooming category has consistently seen substantial growth throughout the
pandemic, and private label brands continue to dominate as much as 75% of total dollar share
in some subcategories. Given the lack of diversity in products and brands, consumers looking to
cater to their pets at home are limited in terms of innovation, and it’s possible that not all
shoppers’ needs are being met.

More human-centric personal care brands are entering the pet grooming space, with Hempz,
Wet Brush and Waterpik all releasing successful pet product crossovers. Many of the top pet
grooming brands got their start in human beauty and personal care, including Burt’s Bees and
CHI, and these brands have experienced highly accelerated growth as consumers stocked up
on at-home pet care. Outside of the health and beauty care space, tool manufacturer Dremel
has expanded its expertise into pet grooming with a nail grooming kit. With an “if it’s good
enough for me, it’s good enough for my dog” mindset, pet owners have shown that they’re
highly inclined to purchase grooming products for their pets from brands that they trust for their
own personal use.

These aforementioned brands, traditionally known for their human products, experienced steep
sales declines in beauty and personal care throughout the pandemic. Their pet grooming
product lines, however, helped insulate a great deal of those losses and capture growth from an
entirely new shopper segment. Beauty and personal care brands looking to enter the pet
grooming space will be able to attract pre-existing customers to their pet product lines as they
seek out familiar, trusted brands for their furry family members. As the outlook for beauty and
personal care remains bleak, moving into pet grooming products can capture additional dollars
from DIY-lovers looking to care for their pets at home.

Pet brands need to take advantage of the growth in DIY and get consumers excited about
taking care of their pet’s grooming needs at-home. The majority of pet owners have yet to
purchase within the pet grooming space, and retailers and brands need to offer easy-to-use,
comprehensive product kits that satisfy a variety of grooming needs as consumers familiarize
themselves with at-home pet care. In addition, brands and retailers need to teach consumers
about the benefits of routine, at-home pet care and make clear connections between their
reprioritized sense of self care and pet care.

Methodology
● Nielsen AOD Core, Total U.S. xAOC + Pet Retail, Pet Grooming Category, 26-week and
52-week periods ending Oct. 10, 2020
● Nielsen AOD Panel, Total U.S. Pet Grooming, 52 weeks ending Oct. 30, 2020
● Nielsen Homescan, Total US xAOC, Pet Grooming, 52 weeks ending Oct. 31, 2020
● Nielsen E-Commerce powered by Rakuten Intelligence, April-Sept 2020
● American Pet Product Association COVID-19 Pulse Study
● American Pet Product Association 2019-2020 National Pet Owners Survey

Hi (insert name),

Sending through newly released Nielsen pet data for coverage consideration.

New Nielsen data shows that Pet grooming sales have grown by +27% since the outset of
COVID-19, and e-commerce now accounts for more than half of all pet grooming sales.

Most interestingly, I thought you might be interested in some new insights around DIY pet
grooming and how pet grooming brands and retailers can capitalize on shoppers’ reprioritized
sense of self care.

Happy to share some additional information if needed. See below for story and quote.

Thanks and happy holidays!!

Story link:
https://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/article/2020/shoppers-reprioritized-sense-of-self-care-lea
ds-to-a-rise-in-diy-pet-grooming/

Expert quote:
“The sharp, pandemic-related rise in DIY health and beauty caused consumers to not only
invest more time and effort into their own at-home personal care routines, but also their pets’.
Pet grooming products had high online purchasing rates prior to the pandemic, and we can
expect a great deal of those who shifted online during the pandemic to continue to purchase pet
grooming through this channel and further fuel online category growth. But online usage may
not equate to permanent, long-term adoption for all shoppers, and with a vaccine on the
horizon, we can expect some consumers to revert back to old habits as we approach the
second half of 2021. As pandemic-related concerns begin to quell and some shoppers return to
physical stores, it’s imperative that retailers create comparable in-store and online experiences
through convenience and personalization and offer diverse product assortments.”
-Tara James, Senior Vice President, Nielsen
Let me know if you have any questions!

Thanks,
Madeline