Sixty-two percent of the nation’s 111 million households include at least one pet, according to the American Pet Products Manufacturing Association. Yet New York-based media brokerage services firm ParadyszMatera estimates that the house file universe for pet supply catalogs is only 2.11 million names.
Even taking into account that several well-known catalogs in this sector, such as The Dog’s Outfitter and Jeffers, do not make their lists available for rental or exchange, that’s still a small portion of the overall market for pet supplies. Nonetheless, the number of 12-month buyer names available for rental or exchange has increased more than 9% from 1.93 million for the fourth quarter of 2003 and nearly 20% from 1.77 million for the fourth quarter of 2002.
Of those names currently on the market, more than half of them have purchased from Doctors Foster & Smith, whose core cat and dog books account for more than 1.06 million 12-month buyers. Pet Warehouse, the file that consists of Doctors Foster & Smith’s bird, fish, reptile, and small-mammal catalog buyers, has more than 232,000 12-month buyers — enough to make it the second-largest file in this category. The number-three file, PetEdge, sells to breeders, groomers, and other b-to-b buyers as well as to consumers, which explains why its $150 average order value is more than twice as large as Doctors Foster & Smith’s $66 average order size.
Among the major gainers in the category is Care-a-Lot Pet Supply. It ended the fourth quarter of 2004 with more than 109,000 12-month buyers, a 40% increase from 2003. Smaller catalogs that have seen big growth include Cat Claws, whose 12-month buyer file grew 67%, to 46,000, and J and J Dog Supplies, whose 12-month buyer file increased 62%, to 24,000.
On the down side, Great Companions saw its 12-month buyer file shrink by 50%, to 9,000 names. But that’s no doubt because the cataloger narrowed its niche from selling supplies for pets in general to focus exclusively on birds.
Total house file universe: pet supply catalogs
| 4Q 2002 |
1Q 2003 |
2Q 2003 |
3Q 2003 |
4Q 2003 |
1Q 2004 |
2Q 2004 |
3Q 2004 |
4Q 2004 |
|
| Total universe | 1.77 | 1.82 | 1.92 | 1.94 | 1.93 | 1.94 | 1.96 | 2.14 | 2.11 |
Pet supply mailers with the largest active buyer files
| Rank | List name | 4Q 2004 house file universe | Average order |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Doctors Foster & Smith Catalog Buyers | 1,064,937 | $66 |
| 2 | Pet Warehouse | 232,394 | $60 |
| 3 | PetEdge | 118,257 | $150 |
| 4 | Care-a-Lot Pet Supply Warehouse Catalog Buyers | 109,338 | $75 |
| 5 | JB Wholesale Pet Supplies Catalog | 101,802 | $85 |
| Souce: ParadyszMatera | |||