Everything You Need to Know About Building a Pet Products Marketplace

As millennial and Generation Z consumers have grown into adulthood, they have embraced pet-owning and pet-loving significantly more than their predecessors. This cultural shift has resulted in an explosive growth of the pet industry in the last few years. The global pet care market size was valued at $150.67 billion in 2021 and is expected to expand at a CAGR of 5.1% from 2022 to 2030.

Another survey done by The American Pet Products Association reveals that almost 85 million US households have a pet and pet ownership has grown from 56% to 68% over the last 30 years.

 

Scope of Pet Products Business

Since people are obsessed with pets in their homes, they are willing to spend a lot to ensure their pets get the best products. Furthermore, responsible pet ownership has been increasingly popular in recent years. So, pet owners are demonstrating a strong desire to keep their pets happy and healthy.

These trends are eminently driving pet products’ sales making it a profitable venture for entrepreneurs who are planning to enter this industry. And now that technology has been leading almost every aspect of our daily lives and everyone is using smartphones to get things done, building an online pet products marketplace seems like a great idea.

The overall revenue of this industry is decent, however, the investment may vary widely depending on the business type. Pet walking or sitting would incur only marketing costs while grooming, daycare, or boarding would require higher costs due to the need for physical premises. The prices and profit margins can be set accordingly to suit the business type.

Speaking of the business type, there are multiple verticals in the pet products industry.

Verticals Within the Pet Products Industry

Pet products businesses come in different forms, some provide everyday supplies like food, bowls, and toys that are in demand while others offer unique and innovative products. The goal of every business is to find a niche that is sustainable and distinct enough to let them brand their business in a unique way.

Some pet products business ideas to get started:

Pet Supplies

Every pet owner requires pet supplies like food bowls, toys, and leashes. Although the competition is immense in this domain, entrepreneurs should not get tricked by missing the huge opportunity here. Usually, a market overflowing with options makes it hard for customers to decide what to purchase resulting in no purchase at all.

Startups, in this scenario, can come up with one-of-a-kind brands with a USP putting them in a better position to let customers purchase from them. Pet supplies include

• Food bowls, leashes
• Houses, cages, beds, litter boxes
• Collars, combs
• Toys
• Bird house, bird feeders
• Fish bowls, aquariums

Pet Food/Treats

The pet food market is also growing immensely as pet owners are increasingly becoming health conscious and like to provide their pets with the best kind of food. This provides an opportunity to cater to them with healthier options for their pets. Innovative food products that are nutritious and healthy will surely attract pet owners.

Customized treats for pets with dietary restrictions can also be considered. Soft treats like kibble, dried meats, and a whole lot of things can also be thought of to set your business apart and unique.

Pet Clothes/Apparel

Pet apparel can also be an exciting new avenue to explore this domain as clothing for pets has become increasingly popular over the last few years. Pet owners are particular about their pets’ fashion choices as their own and to cater to these fashion choices there are lots of shirts, outfits, and accessories designed for them.

This niche is easy to reign as there is not much competition. Moreover, the nature of this low-risk business venture allows business owners to focus on marketing their businesses.

Innovative Products

New innovative products in the market based on the needs of pet lovers can also be sold on marketplaces. These products can be anything from creative pet accessories to health care products and luxury pet products.

• Pet GPS tracker
• Car seat for home and travel
• Food-preserving containers/boxes
• Cleansing pet bathers

The numbers and the type of pet products businesses show that there is tremendous growth in the market size and still a huge room for growth. However, a significant thing to consider is which trends will drive the growth. Let’s have a quick look at the trends.

Trends in the Pet Products Industry

Related to pet food to luxury pet products, we have listed the top trends to help you visualize what’s coming in the pet products domain.

Pet Supplements Take Off

Undoubtedly, pet supplements such as dog vitamins, catfish oil, etc. are growing astonishingly, but the fastest-growing pet supplement category is CBD. The spike is because many pet owners are now concerned about giving their pets CBD oil. The oil is also supposed to help treat canine osteoarthritis in dogs which is also why companies like Royal CBD and Gold Bee have released less potent CBD products engineered specifically for pets.

New Categories Emerge in Pet Products

Traditionally, the pet products industry was made up of a handful of products like food, beds, hygiene, toys, leashes, etc. but businesses today are coming up with completely new product ranges such as pet wipes and pet toothpaste. Litter robot, a battery-powered and wi-fi operated litter box that cleans itself after every use.

Luxury Pet Products Go Mainstream

There is a group of pet owners who will buy any product to make their pets happy, which also includes relatively expensive products. The luxury pet products include frozen yogurt for dogs, pretty litter (kitty litter that changes color based on a cat’s urine pH levels to detect illness), and cat enclosures (fenced-in areas designed to help cats get time outdoors).

Increased Popularity for D2C

One of the trends that is gaining popularity in the eCommerce domain is D2C. Numerous brands are working within this trend and have become leaders in this space including chewy. Seeing the potential of this trend, Amazon is also trying to tap this profitable niche by selling pet food.

Preference for Natural Food Brands

Pet owners prioritize the health of their pet’s food over their own and prefer organic ingredients and omega-3 content in their pet’s food.

One thread that ties almost all these significant trends together is pet health and wellness. Pet owners are considerably concerned about the health of their pets and are willing to spend relatively more to keep them happy and healthy.

And as pet ownership is continuing to increase, the market is definitely expected to grow with it which makes it the right time for aspiring entrepreneurs to step into the domain and make a mark. Let’s have a look at what is required to build a pet products marketplace.

Building a Pet Products Marketplace

There’s nothing more fulfilling than starting a business in an industry that is in demand and is equally rewarding. The pet products marketplace can be a business that provides entrepreneurs with income for years to come. Let’s look at some critical steps to creating your pet business.

Conduct Market Research

Before entering the business, you must learn about the pet industry. Research and analyze the pet store market to identify the target audience and gain in-depth insights into your competitors. Also, knowing the trends of the industry like the most bought items can offer a competitive edge in the market.

Know Customers’ Needs

After the market research is done, it’s time for entrepreneurs to understand their customers and their needs. It is important to understand and supply them with what they want. Businesses need to describe their uniqueness and how they will stand out from the competition. 

Choose the Revenue Streams

Every business is created with the aim to generate revenue through it, which is why it is significant to have clear revenue streams. There are multiple revenue generation channels and a couple or more can be combined to better serve the business. Here are the options for possible revenue channels:

Commission

A percentage cut from the revenue of sellers on the marketplace.

Advertisement

Extra percentage cut from sellers to list them on the most prominent places for more visibility.

Merchandise

Businesses can choose to offer company-themed branded merchandise to boost revenue.

Decide Features to Include

Cutting-edge features in the marketplace makes it more unique and feature-rich which ultimately leads to being more liked by the users and target audience. Here are some of the basic features of a pet products marketplace for each of its users:

Customers

• Register via email or social media profile
• Manage Personal Profile and Settings
• Search and view Pet products
• Secure online payments
• Manage Profile
• Push updates/notifications
• Reviews and Ratings
• Mobile wallet integration for quick payments
• Get customer support via Chat or Call

Sellers

• Register and Login
• Create & Manage Profile
• Seller Dashboard
• Manage products
• Accept Payments
• Chat with Customers
• View/Get ratings and Review Alert
• Generate Revenue Analysis Reports

Admin

• Secure Login
• Manage Customers & Sellers
• Manage Purchases/Commission/Offers/Promo/Discounts
• Create/Update FAQ, Term, and Policies
• Provide Technical & Customer Support
• View & Manage Billing/Invoice/Reports
• Manage Reviews, Ratings & Feedback
• Verify Sellers
• Chat Module To Provide Customer Support

In addition to this, below mentioned are some advanced features that can also be integrated into a pet products marketplace.

• Social Media Integration
• Loyalty Rewards
• Product Comparison
• In-app Chat
• Revenue Analytics
• Seller Verification
• 360-degree Products View
• Voice Assistant
• Social Sharing
• Multiple Payment Options
• Multilingual
• Multi-Currency Support

Choose Development Approach

The last and final step is to select the development approach. The two development approaches to building a pet products marketplace are either developing the platform from scratch or investing in a turnkey solution. Developing from scratch requires a development team that will include designers, developers, testers, and many more.

Also, the time and cost of developing from scratch are higher when compared to a readymade solution. Readymade solutions have all the basic features integrated into them which makes the development process quick and cost-effective. Yo!Kart is one such off-the-shelf ecommerce solution that can be used to build a pet products marketplace with all the features mentioned above.

This is the ultimate customizable solution for business owners who are looking for a feasible product for their pet products store. The seamless integrations and endless features help business owners streamline their operations and achieve their business goals. The industry-specific features focus on sustaining and improving the performance of the business helping to stay ahead in the competitive landscape.

Start a Pet Products Marketplace Today

Aspiring entrepreneurs do not need to be scared by the prospect of starting their own pet products business as the scope of the business is quite bright. Creating a sustainable successful pet business that is accessible and fulfilling will always be successful. As pet lovers are obsessed with their pets, they value the pet products to help make them safer, happier, and healthier.