Recessionary Tactics: The Importance of Brand Loyalty in Pet Care

The Pet Care category continues to buck recessionary trends.

The abandonment of brand loyalty for private label offerings has been a common perception during the current recession. According to Thom Blischok, President, Consulting and Innovation, IRI, consumers have been "flocking to private brands for relief from rapidly escalating food prices. Even upper- income shoppers, those earning more than $100,000 per year, [are] turning to private brands."

And yet, despite major store brand efforts in the Pet Care aisle, private label dollar share in this category is only around 10 percent. That's compared with a 15.6 percent average across 120 Nielsen categories.

Odd? Not really. Not when considering the attitudinal predisposition of Pet Care shoppers. In this category, consumer brand confidence is a fundamental driver.

In a 2009 consumer study by Yankelovich¹, when asked if they would move down a level in quality on at least some of the food products they purchase for themselves, 22 percent of respondents said yes. Similarly, when asked the same question about buying for their children, 21 percent said they would. However, when asked about the food products they'd buy for their pets, only 15 percent said they'd be willing to trade down.

A number of factors contribute to this brand loyal attitude among pet owners, not the least of which is the unique emotional attachment they enjoy with their furry friends. Some see an increase in "humanization" - treating pets as a ranking member of the family. But pet owners also have practical considerations. Most dogs and cats are only fed a few - often a single - product and rely on those for all their nutrients. So while humans may enjoy hundreds of food items and are open to sacrificing quality on some, they tend to be reluctant to skimp when it comes to their pets' limited diets.

In fact, the same Yakelovich study found that Pet was the category that consumers were least willing to trade down compared to all others that were tracked. In essence, this indicated greater national brand loyalty for Pet than in laundry detergents, soft drinks, frozen dinners/entrees, Italian sauce or ready-to-serve soup.

However, with all this in mind, there's still no denying that in this current economic environment, price is top of mind with consumers. So retailers are urged to communicate "value" to the consumer at the shelf, in promotional space and in ads.

Nestle Purina continues to grow share while private label Consumers continue to migrate to the brands they know and are confident in like NPPC. For more on this topic, use the form below to download a special presentation from Nestlé Purina PetCare.

¹ - Source: Yankelovich Dollars and Consumer Sense study – Wave 2 Q109