UK consumers switch on to pet clothing as brand opportunities expand

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Nov 19, 2018

In normal circumstances, receiving a release containing survey results that show 44% of UK consumers would like to wear an outfit that matched whatever they might dress their dog in might be dismissed as a gimmick.

But coming in the same month that Moncler has launched its Poldo Dog Couture Couture collab, there’s clearly more going on here. The human-pet crossover market is booming and is a particular opportunity for the luxury sector as Millennial pet owners in particular prioritise spending on their pets.

A survey of 1,000 UK dog owners by tailoring specialist Savile Row Company showed 40% of them spending more on their dogs than a member of their immediate family, 65% classing their dogs as a ‘member of the family’, 44% prepared to wear matching outfits with their dogs and the same number wanting to ensure it’s ‘real’ fashion rather than a novelty costume.

Clare Hamilton, canine expert and first opinion vet, said that this classification of dogs as being a member of the family explains the human need to anthropomorphise pets by dressing them in outfits, something 75% of the surveyed owners admitted purchasing, even if only for one-off events such as Christmas.

The survey is all part of the the company’s publicity campaign for a competition that’s offering consumers the chance to win a made-to-measure shirt for themselves and one for their dog with the option of custom embroidery on the cuffs.

And yes, that's clearly a marketing initiative. But the competition comes just a few days after a more concrete step into pet fashion by a big name, with Moncler having announced the launch of its collaboration with Poldo Dog Couture as the latest step in its reinvention of its ranges under the Genius tag. 

The new collection includes classic down jackets in new nylon laqué colours and waistcoats in the colours of the French flag.

And the trend is impacting beauty too. Only last month we heard that British organic skincare brand ila-spa was preparing to launch into the petcare market with a line called ilapet. This includes Peaceful Pooches (a rescue remedy), plus Shampoo and Paw Wash, and Doggy Mist. The products are designed both to calm and to clean dogs.

Mintel said recently that the UK pet products market should be worth £1.7 billion this year but would rise to £2.1 billion by 2023 with non-essential products seeing fast growth.