ZOOMARK
THE CHANGING FACE OF
PET RETAIL IN INDIA
By Amol Sharma*
F
or decades, pet retail in
India has been largely
fragmented and driven
by stand-alone stores. But
something is changing. Th e
rising population of pets along
with the increased awareness
among pet parents, coupled
with the increased adoption of
e-commerce is changing the
entire landscape. Th e category
is now growing at almost ~35%
CAGR and is poised to be
the fastest growing consumer
goods category in the next
decade.
Th e advent of large
e-commerce players such as
Amazon has further ensured
access to customers in non-
metro locations and also
helped smaller home grown
brands to establish a footprint
in the market. Th is too is
shaping the consumer behavior
as pet parents now seek
assortment, which their local
stand-alone store may
not be able to off er. It is a
virtuous cycle with increased
and better assortment driving
awareness, which in turn
drives the need for even better
products.
Th e Indian pet retail industry
has already started witnessing
fi rst signs of the changing
landscape with small retail
chains mushrooming in major
metro cities such as New
Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru,
besides a few mini-metros
too. Besides the giants of
e-commerce, small pet care
e-commerce companies have
also started catering to the
Indian consumer. Sooner or
later, we are going to witness
both these channels merging
together into Omni-channel
entities with greater access to
pet parents, both in-store as
well as remotely.
How will this impact
the Industry?
While buying power of these
Omni-channel entities will
certainly increase, this also
augurs good news for pet
parents and brands. While
pet parents will start getting
a better assortment of pet
care products, brands (both
existing and new) will be able
to penetrate the market better
with greater access points.
Th is will also imply the need
for skilled salesmen with
14
Creature Companion | • Noida