In Germany, the economic landscape remains challenging due to ongoing inflation, impacting consumer spending power, particularly in pet and household care products. Indeed, pet ownership trends reveal that financially stable Germans are likelier to own pets, with Gen Z showing the highest ownership rates at 79%.
Pet ownership is on the rise in Germany, leading to increased demand for household care products that address pet-related needs. There’s a significant opportunity for brands to innovate, especially in floor cleaning solutions, as 62% of pet-related messes experienced are hair and feathers on the floor. Brands can enhance their market presence to pet owners by featuring simple visual cues, such as paw symbols and pet photos on pack, to highlight the effectiveness of their products. Additionally, focusing on odour-removal has more potential, as few products currently make this claim.
To connect with younger pet owners, brands need to focus on education through social media platforms, as both Gen Z and Millennials are active users. This approach can help brands establish a stronger rapport with these demographics by addressing their specific needs.
This report looks at the following areas:
- Economic impact on pet ownership and household care habits in Germany
- Typologies of German pet owners and their purchasing behaviours
- The influence of financial stability on pet ownership trends
- Consumer demand for pet-specific household care products
- Opportunities in addressing pet-related cleaning challenges
- Trends in eco-friendly and pet-safe household products
Mainstream brands can tap into Germany’s high pet ownership by using simple communication on-pack about suitability for pets.
Yasemin Holtemayer, Household Care Research Analyst, Germany
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
- What you need to know
- Efficacy continues to be at the centre of Germans’ household care needs
- What consumers want & why
- The five-year outlook for household care
- Opportunities in marketing
- Opportunities in product development
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MARKET DRIVERS
- The German economy
- 2024 remains challenging
- Graph 1: key economic data, in real terms, 2019-25
- The inflation rate is bouncing back to more conventional levels
- Inflation is still the key factor affecting consumers’ finances…
- …confidence and expenditure
- Graph 2: financial confidence index, 2022-24
- Pet products and household care continue to be expensive
- Graph 3: consumer price index for pet food and pet products and cleaning products, 2023-24
- The impact of the economy on pet ownership
- Pet ownership in Germany
- Pet ownership remains high in Germany
- Pet ownership skews younger
- Graph 4: pet ownership, by generation, 2024
- The financially healthy are more likely to own pets
- Graph 5: pet ownership, by financial situation, 2024
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WHAT CONSUMERS WANT AND WHY
- Pet owner typologies
- German pet owner typologies
- Innovation Seekers (27%)
- Graph 6: pet owner typology, by gender, 2024
- Offer hair-removing innovations for floor and furniture…
- …as well as pet-safe disinfecting properties
- International inspiration: fabric care brands focusing on pet-related messes
- Relaxed Pet Owners (24%)
- Graph 7: pet owner typology, by pets owned, 2024
- Underscore the joys of having pets in product communication
- Clean Home and Happy Pet (24%)
- Graph 8: pet owner typology, by generation, 2024
- Use Clean Home and Happy Pet owners’ affinity for social media to highlight product convenience and safety
- Strict but Indifferent Pet Owners (24%)
- Graph 9: presence of children in the home, by pet owner typology, 2024
- Educate young pet owners on the impact of household cleaners
- Changes in cleaning frequency since owning a pet
- Most Germans own pets for a long time
- Graph 10: changes in cleaning frequency since owning a pet, 2024
- Graph 11: length of pet ownership, 2024
- Pets are a common family member among bigger households
- Pet ownership fuels cleaning challenges
- Connect with Gen Z on social media to establish loyalty
- Homecare purchase changes made since owning a pet
- Efficacy-concerns rise with owning pets
- Graph 12: changes in shopping behaviour since owning a pet, 2024
- Underscore pet-specific efficacy through visual communication
- Eco-friendly products are popular due to general concerns about the environment…
- …yet brands should highlight pet-safety at the same time to reassure consumers
- Pet-related messes experienced
- Female pet owners experience more pet messes at home
- Support female pet owners with convenient and stress-reducing solutions
- Floor-related messes are the most commonly experienced
- Graph 13: pet-related messes experienced at home, 2024
- Underscore floor cleaners’ ability to deal with pet messes through simple pet-centric communication
- Offer easy ways to find pet-friendly glass cleaners
- An opportune time to increase odour-neutralising claims
- Graph 14: household care product launches*, by odour-neutralising claim, 2021-24
- Leverage new odour-combatting technology
- Febreze highlights its refreshing capabilities in the home
- Increase aircare usage by enhancing it with stress-reducing pheromones
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APPENDIX
- Appendix – products covered, abbreviations, consumer research methodology and language usage
- Products covered in this Report
- Abbreviations
- Consumer research methodology
- A note on language
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