This year, more Americans anticipate buying gifts for their pets (34%) than they do their in-laws (19%). Hopefully, that says less about the state of the nation’s in-laws than it does the growing pet gift market.

According to Bloomberg, the global pet industry will swell to $500 billion by 2030. Much of that is due to increased pet healthcare costs. But Bloomberg also notes: “We’re seeing a profound increase in consumer spending on pets and expect to see this continue through 2030.”

This is a prime trend for ecommerce businesses to capitalize on this holiday season. In one survey, respondents said they purchased 4.42 gifts for their pets each year. But there are still questions. What kinds of products make great pet gifts, and how can you capitalize on this growing trend while we enter the 2024 holiday season?

Most Popular Product Categories for Pet Holiday Gifts

The rise of these new pet shopping trends hints at the underlying demographic changes driving them. Most notably, younger pet owners tend to buy more gifts for their pets. So, before you launch a marketing campaign to capitalize on holiday pet spending, consider that what you sell has to appeal to pet owners. 

“Younger consumers gave their pets the most gifts,” reports Industry Intel. Consumers under the age of 33 bought the most yearly pet gifts on average (5.46), while Boomers (3.23) and seniors (2.43) were the least likely to buy pet gifts.

Given these trends, it helps to think of your holiday pet gift offerings as best appealing to younger generations, including Gen Z and millennials:

Pet toys: Especially interactive, educational, and themed holiday toys. Plush toys also fit neatly into a pet gift marketing strategy.

Apparel: Including holiday-themed, festive items, personalized clothing, and, during the holidays, novelty apparel that fits with the season.

Treats and food: Premium treats or holiday-themed snacks make great pet gifts and excellent stocking stuffers for anyone you know with pets.

Pet beds and furniture: These are higher-ticket items, but they can make a big difference in each pet’s life and feel like a more substantial investment than seasonal gifts.

Subscription boxes: Popular with younger generations who are used to paying by subscription. In our whitepaper on consumers’ enduring appetite for subscriptions, we found that 51% of people said they will likely renew a subscription within the next six months. Why not get pets a gift that keeps on giving, too?

Customized pet gifts: This can include engraved collars and custom pet portraits, which are especially useful for pet holiday gifts for pet owners who already lavish their pet.

Targeting Pet Gift-Givers With Marketing Strategies

It would be fun if your target market were a large group of dogs and cats with credit cards. However, an effective pet gift market strategy should target pet owners and holiday gift buyers as key segments this year. Millennials and Gen Z will drive much of the holiday pet spending. Capturing their attention means that it helps to target a young audience with lots of love to give.

Effective marketing should begin with pet-centric messaging. Just as you might build a holiday-themed promotion that plays on the emotional connection between pet owners and their furry pals, you should target pet owners to capitalize on these pet shopping trends.

For example, IKEA sometimes creates campaigns for pet owners by playfully referencing how their affordable furniture makes it easier when pets destroy it.

To build campaigns specifically designed to capitalize on pet shopping trends, there are a few strategies you might consider:

Gift guides. Holiday gift guides are always popular because consumers aren’t sure how to buy gifts for other people, let alone pets. But targeted holiday gift guides can inspire customers to select an option or two that you present at your ecommerce store. Use them to build on specific themes and highlight unique holiday offerings like personalized items. You can also use these gift guides to create season-exclusive holiday bundles that expire after a certain date, increasing the urgency of the sale.

Create bundles and discounts. Urgency is all about reminding people that holiday gifts don’t come with prices that last year-round. By creating holiday-specific bundles and discounts, you can add to this urgency while also cross-selling other products that might not normally be as holiday-friendly. Be sure to remind people when bundles are only available for a certain time. This creates scarcity around your bundles and encourages holiday pet gift buyers to take action before the season’s over.

Influencer partnerships. Pet lovers are inevitably going to follow other pet lovers online. And pet influencers — whether they’re posting from their pet’s social media presence or their own — can reach a highly targeted audience of pet gift-givers. For example, Target found that 70% of their shoppers had a pet, so they started reaching out to “fur-fluencers” to reframe some of their gifts as pet-friendly. Even if your ecommerce presence doesn’t sell exclusively pet-related products, you can always tap into this same audience with a similar reframe.

These strategies don’t require that you rebrand as a “dog and cat” store, or even that you sell ecommerce pet products to begin with. Nor do they require that you change who your customers are. You can offer a fresh take on your products, adjust your messaging accordingly, and attract a new market.

Taking Advantage of the 2024 Holiday Pet Gift Market

Holiday gift ideas are a challenge every year, but less so for pets. After all, a dog can never have enough treats. With Millennials and Gen Z customers becoming far more likely to buy pet-related gifts, there’s an increased opportunity to tap an entirely different market this holiday season. You don’t even have to sell pet-themed items. You simply need a way to reframe those products to fit a pet gift marketing strategy.

Want more knowledge like this to tap into holiday markets and get the most from your year-end campaign? Download the Shopper Insights Brief and schedule a demo with Bizrate Insights today!