It is ‘pet, set, go’ on the e-commerce platform. The pet care business seems to have found patronage online with several players reporting healthy growth in this niche.
While canine and feline products are the fastest moving, others catering to birds, fishes, hamsters, horses and – hold your breath – pythons, are available online.
Enthusiasts have also set up an Indian Pet Association to bring animal lovers under one umbrella.
“The humanisation of pets and rising loneliness levels, especially in cities, are leading to pet ownership. This has led to rising demand for products catering to pets,” Tony Navin, Vice-President, Business Development, Snapdeal.com, said.
Snapdeal, which entered the pet care vertical four months ago, said it had built a large repertoire of products to cater to the demand from the online brigade.
Interestingly, for the company, pet care is one of the fastest growing sub-categories.
Navin said while 55 per cent of the demand came from urban centres, the balance came from Sec B and C cities. “Cities such as Meerut and Coimbatore account for huge demand, especially in the canine category. The demand from smaller cities can be attributed to lack of availability of products in retail,” he added.
By next month, the company will have products to cater to small birds, rodents and reptiles.
Malini Sharma Thakur, eBay Trend Watcher, eBay India, says on an average a pet accessory is bought every 48 minutes.
Accessories
The company has 1,295 product listings of pet accessories. Products such as pet food, toys, fancy collars, grooming and training products are sought after, she added.
According to eBay India Census Guide 2012, pet accessories were the fifth most sold products from Bangalore and fourth most bought products from Sikkim. However, pet lovers from Mizoram buy the most accessories for their furry friends on eBay India.
The current overall size (both offline and online) of Indian pet care and food market is estimated at Rs 350 crore. Currently, most pet care companies use supermarkets, veterinarians, breeders, pet shops, and retail chemists as vehicles to distribute their products.
Dogspot, another online platform, had started off in 2007 as a social network for canine lovers.
However, owing to demand from consumers, the company entered e-commerce. “Pets are more like companions in urban homes. The average ticket size is about Rs 1,500-2,000. This is much higher compared with many other products sold online,” said Rana Atheya, Founder-CEO, Dogspot.
The company said it was shortly going to launch Fishspot.in.
Insurance
And if the online segment isn’t enough, insurance companies, too, are chasing pet owners.
Companies such as Bajaj Allianz General Insurance, Oriental Insurance, United India Insurance and National Insurance are offering policies on illness and accidents, among other situations.