Around the world an unusual demographic shift is taking place. Fur babies are replacing human babies.
In two very different cultures – USA and Japan – there are now more households with pets than there are households with children under the age of 15. Dion Chang delves into the “fur baby” phenomenon and discovers products and services targeted at a new breed of pet parent, who spend lavishly on their furry charges.
If you search online for Louis Vuitton’s Bone Trunk you’ll get a snapshot of the dizzying heights the global pet economy has reached. The trunk – in LV monogrammed canvas with cowhide leather trim and gold-toned hardware – carries just two pet bowls set into a laminated tray, for a convenient, portable feeding station. This is designed for the jet set pet who doesn’t enjoy eating out of unfamiliar crockery when travelling. Louis Vuitton is coy about the price but I tracked it down. It’s a steal at R330 000.
Louis Vuitton is not the only global luxury brand to add a pet collection to its offering. Brands such as Prada, Gucci, Burberry and Tiffany & Co have all been eyeing the pet economy and understand that many of their clients are also devoted pet parents who are only too happy to indulge in extreme pet pampering, if only for bragging rights when they take their dog for walkies. Dolce & Gabbana has even developed a pet fragrance named after the duo’s dog, Fefe: an alcohol-free, scented mist for dogs with delicate notes of ylang ylang, musk, and sandalwood.
As ludicrous as it may sound, the luxury brands have done their homework. The transfer of spending on fur children is staggering and has fuelled a $11.9 billion luxury pet market that includes hotel room service menus for dogs (many by Michelin star chefs), private jet airlines for pets, and even Swarovski-studded strollers.?
Speaking of pet strollers, a defining moment in global pet parenting took place in 2023. Gmarket, South Korea’s largest online retailer, released its sales data, which showed that it had sold more pet strollers than baby strollers that year. Strollers specifically for pets accounted for 57% of all stroller sales, while baby strollers made up the remaining 43%. The previous years had shown a steady growth: in 2021 pet strollers represented only 33% of sales, growing in 2022 to 36%.
This tipping point is attributed to South Korea's low birth rate and a growing number of households with pets. More than 15 million people in South Korea now own pets whereas the country’s birth rate – 0.75 in 2024 – broke its own record for the world’s lowest.
While declining birth rates and ageing populations are contributing to the fur baby phenomenon, it is the global child-free movement that is proving to be the key driver.
The child-free movement (electing not to have children vs being “child-less” and being unable to conceive) first took root with Millennials. In tandem, the definition of a nuclear family has also been shifting, which now includes pets as family members. There are already numerous social media posts with the caption: “My generation dropping off the grandkids with their grandparents” and a video showing a front door being opened to reveal a dog or a cat sitting in a stroller.
Gen Z is now adding to the momentum of the child-free movement, not necessarily because they don’t want children but many feel that they will never be able to afford to buy a house, let alone afford to start a family. But cost-of-living concerns aside, there is also a nagging feeling that bringing another human into a world that seems to be unravelling – environmentally, politically, economically, and socially – is not the right thing to do.
Unsurprisingly, Gen Z are boosting the global pet economy by being the largest group of first-time pet parents.
South African businesses join the pet economy
In South Africa you just need to follow the money to see that we are following the same pet trajectory as the rest of the world. Every supermarket chain now has a pet offering: Woolworths acquired Absolute Pets in 2024, PnP has a pet club, every new Checkers store that now opens, opens with a stand-alone Petshop Science store alongside, and more recently the Spar group launched its pet offering, Pet Storey, with an ambitious plan to reach 100 stores by the end of 2026.
Pet legislation: they really are family
Apart from the pet economy’s bottom line there is also legislation that is starting to legitimise the deep emotional bonds we have with our pets.
Last year, Australia’s Family Law was amended to recognise pets as “sentient beings” rather than “property” – the default categorisation of pets. This follows similar family law amendments in Spain, France, and Portugal, which recognised pets as legal family members, specifically to consider a pet’s welfare when couples enter a messy custody battle when they divorce or break up: a sure sign of how passionate pet parents have become about their fur babies.
Some forward-thinking companies are also acknowledging the impact of pet parenting on their workforce. Pawternity leave – a play on the words “maternity leave” – describes a company policy that allows their staff to take time off (paid or unpaid) to bond with a new pet they have adopted to ensure the new family member settles in.
At the other end of the scale, there are a surprising number of companies that are starting to provide pet bereavement leave after the death of a pet, as part of employee benefits. In South Africa, the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) officially introduced its pet-bereavement policy back in 2018. University spokesperson Normah Zondo told the press at the time, “Members of staff are entitled to pet bereavement leave. Staff will be allowed to take one day per annum to mourn the death of a registered family companion pet. The rationale was that for many staff, their pets were akin to close family members.”
The science behind the fur baby phenomenon
When we lock eyes or engage with someone we care for – a romantic partner, child, or close friend – our bodies produce oxytocin, the hormone responsible for attachment, affection, connectedness, and unconditional acceptance. Scientists have now discovered that humans experience the same surge in oxytocin while playing, being in close proximity to or making eye contact with their pets. So, when your fur baby stares lovingly at you or comes for a cuddle when you call them, your brain receives a hit of oxytocin, which activates the caregiving system: a biological response that makes us want to instinctively protect and nurture.
KEY TAKEAWAY
The global pet economy may be booming now, but it’s nowhere near its peak. Add Gen Z, and the growing acceptance of the child-free movement, into the equation and the trajectory of pet ownership becomes clear. In 2024, 18.8 million Gen Z households (in the US) owned a pet, a massive 43.5% increase from the year before, and 70% of Gen Z pet parents now have two or more pets.
South Africa’s pet economy is also growing rapidly, with more than 20 million pets nationwide and a market worth an estimated R8 billion to R10 billion a year.
South Africa currently ranks as the 4th most pet-friendly country in the world.
But it’s the global projection that is worth taking note of. In 2023 a Bloomberg report already pegged the global pet industry’s worth at $320 billion – roughly the same as the current GDP of Nigeria – and estimated to expand to $500 billion by 2030.