In the UK, 78% of Gen Z own a pet, more than any other generation. These consumers are likely to be new to pet ownership and therefore more cautious about the household care products they purchase and use. This wariness is translating into purchase behaviours, with 49% of Gen Z pet owners purchasing household care products with pet-friendly ingredient claims.
Product safety in the household category is becoming more common, threatening the pet-friendly household care category. If this trend continues, cleaning products could reach a point where standard formulations are safe for pets, and therefore pet-friendly products are redundant. Meanwhile, 44% of pet owners who are responsible for doing household chores only wash pet cages or beds with water, which could prevent widespread adoption of certain pet-friendly cleaning products.
However, mainstream brands are now exploring pet-friendly household care products, which will address the desire for pet-friendly household care products to be more widely available. With established brands entering the category, innovation in the pet-friendly space could flourish with increased investment into new product development. This could boost spending in the category.
This report looks at the following areas:
- The influence of financial stability on pet ownership
- Most common pet-related cleaning challenges
- Purchase and behavioural changes since pet ownership
- Purchase priorities when buying pet-friendly cleaning products
- Pet-related cleaning behaviours and attitudes
- Product innovation and marketing trends in the pet-friendly household care category
Consumer demand for improved availability of pet-friendly household care products is motivating market leaders to explore the pet-safe cleaning category.
Luke Santos, Household Care Analyst
Market Definitions
This Report assesses pet owners’ attitudes and behaviour towards household care.
This Report refers to consumers who own at least one pet and compares responses across demographics to highlight key differences in behaviours and attitudes. The terms pet-friendly and pet-focused household care products are used interchangeably to refer to products that are specifically designed to be used around pets.
This Report focuses on the following household care categories:
- aircare
- cleaning equipment (eg cloths, mop)
- hard surface cleaning products (eg multipurpose cleaners, cleaning wipes)
- kitchen roll
- laundry products
The Report focuses on the UK consumer market for pet-friendly household care products but does not look at pet food, services and insurance, the purchasing of pets or volume of pet products bought.