84.9 million US households own a pet of which, 63.4 million own dogs [1]. On average, dog owners spend $139.80 per month [2], making our canine companion also our most expensive house pet.
This trend is reflected in eBay’s Pet Supplies category. In the last 30-days, in October 2019, the top 100 selling product listings within Dog Supplies turned over $305,786.10, compared to the distant second-place Cat Supplies which sold only $168,252.85.
We dove into four product areas to learn more about the dog products category on eBay.
Flea & Tick Remedies
On eBay, Flea & Tick Remedies is the strongest product category within Dog Supplies. Over the last 30-days, the top 100 selling product listings sold $236,192.22. Best selling treatments are:
Flea collars - 46% of sales
Capsules and tablets - 28% of sales
Topical treatments and others - 26% of sales
Understandably, branded treatments did the best. Although not the cheapest, Seresto was the brand of choice for flea collars. Topicals were evenly distributed across Frontline and K9 Advantix - which were priced at a higher premium to flea collars, but compared to other popular online retailers such as Petco, eBay prices were much lower and offered in bulk purchases.
The big surprise in this category was the prevalence of unbranded capsule treatments. As a non-controlled substance, it can be quite risky to trust a private label medication for your little loved-one, but positive feedback and lower prices makes it an attractive option that seems to be selling!
Figure 1: 30-day sales (#Sold) of top 100 selling product listings in the Dog Clothing & Shoes category. Source: ShelfTrend
Clothing and Shoes
The Clothing & Shoes category is dominated by Unbranded doggy sweaters and vests that don’t range far from the $4 mark. Over the month sales initially grew, flattened, and then continued growing. Between the period of October 5, 2019 to November 3, 2019, the Dog’s Clothing & Shoes category grew 43% in sales, coinciding with important sporting events, Halloween and a drop in temperatures with the seasons.
Dog Collars
Over the last 30-days, in October 2019, the top 100 listings for dog collars sold more than $44,000. Leading styles are LED and Personalized collars, both turning over almost the same amount of revenue.
LED collars have an average sale price of $3.46 and sold almost 3000 items.
Personalized collars are on average $6.53. While they sold only 1600 items, they achieved higher sales revenue.
The stand out performer is the bark collar, categorised under Training & Obedience, selling $136,854.91 over the last 30-days. Although bark collars sold fewer items than general dog collars, they are 4.2x more expensive on average, at $23.61.
Dog Toys
Figure 2: Revenue of top 100 selling Dog Toy product listings. Unbranded toys broken down further by price.
Source: ShelfTrend, Nov 2019
Dog toys selection and revenue is dominated by unbranded and private/white label products.
75% of dog toys revenue, from the top selling 100 product listings, are from unbranded products. Although almost 60% of unbranded toys are sub-$5, more than 55% of sales are going to 2 listings selling bulk lots of used tennis balls in the $40 range from a non-profit seller called recycleballsnonprofit. What a great way to reuse and recycle. Kudos to this seller!
Kong is the strongest mainstream brand, distantly followed by Pet Qwerks. Pet Qwerks and Kong have median prices in the mid $10-range, but possibly because of brand recognition and reputation, Kong’s top 100 product listings sell 14x more than Pet Qwerks.
Dog toy private labels are making their mark on eBay. For example, Broken Aspen is a clever little company out in Utah that is disrupting the monotony of the dog toys market by offering repurposed deer antler chew toys at the average price of $15.
Category Takeaways
The dog supplies category is varied with lots of opportunity. A quick and simple dive into key data points uncovers rich consumer and retail insights.
Low priced products, do not guarantee the most sales. Sales can be driven by many aspects such as practicality - bulk lots and discounts to retail prices.
Pets are cherished family members. The ability to personalize products is a nice way to validate the sentiment people have for their little loved ones.
There are some product categories, such as clothing and shoes, affected by seasonality.
Brand recognition is not the most important aspect but can win out against similarly priced white labels or other similar generic products.
eBay is a popular alternative to traditional pet supply retailers like Petco as the selection is broader and prices are much more affordable across all categories.
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