Over the past 20 years, the sales channels of the global pet industry have undergone three major transformations. For pet brands, accurately connecting with customers, building a solid reputation, and adopting differentiated marketing strategies for different channels are crucial to sustainable development. Hans sorts out the core context of channel changes to provide actionable insights for pet brands.
20 Years of Dramatic Changes in Pet Industry Sales Channels
2003-2012: Offline Stores + Multi-Level Distributors (Traditional Channel Era)
During this period, pet food and supplies were mainly purchased from physical pet stores and small supermarkets, with products distributed through multi-level distributors. Foreign brands dominated over 60% of the market due to their extensive channel coverage, while domestic brands, in their infancy, could only gradually explore low-end and regional markets to gain a foothold.
2012-2018: E-Commerce Platforms Drive the Rise of Domestic Brands (Online Dividend Era)
E-commerce platforms such as Taobao and JD.com boomed, especially with the "Double 11" shopping festival. Domestic brands responded quickly, seizing the online sales dividend to achieve rapid growth—for example, MaiFudi’s sales on Tmall surged by nearly 60% in two years. Burdened by complex offline channel systems, foreign brands failed to keep up, their market share shifting from "dominant" to a balanced split with domestic brands, and some even underperformed domestic counterparts in online sales.
2019-Present: Content Platform Seeding + Online-Offline Synergy (Omnichannel Integration Era)
Content platforms like Douyin (TikTok) and Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book) have reshaped consumer behavior, shifting from "active search" to "impulsive purchase"—customers often place orders directly after watching pet food videos. Today, single-channel operations are no longer viable: online, brands need to seed content on Douyin for user acquisition and complete transactions on Taobao/JD.com; offline, pet stores and hospitals build trust through grooming, medical care and other services. The two channels complement each other to form a consumption closed loop. For example, Chaoyun Group’s pet business achieved over 100% revenue growth by integrating online seeding and offline experience stores.
Advantages & Disadvantages of Online Channels
Currently, over 60% of pet food and snacks are purchased online, with obvious advantages:
Rapidly reach customers nationwide, especially young pet owners who are prone to make purchases after being exposed to short videos and images;
Big data enables precise content delivery to target pet owners, driving high conversion rates.
Key disadvantages:
Platform commissions and advertising costs compress profit margins;
Consumers cannot touch physical products, leading to high return rates; frequent platform promotions cause volatile sales and difficult inventory management.
Advantages & Disadvantages of Offline Channels
Offline channels mainly provide pet medical care, grooming, boarding and other services. They allow pet owners to inspect products in person, receive professional advice from clerks, and build trust easily—especially in sinking markets where offline stores are more recognized.
Key disadvantages:
Pet Brand Strategies: From Traffic Acquisition to Customer Retention
As competition intensifies, blind advertising is less effective. The core lies in "precision" and "reputation building". Brands should adopt differentiated strategies based on their scale:
Large Brands: Omnichannel layout—maintain basic sales on Taobao/JD.com, acquire new customers via Douyin; offline, expand distribution through distributors and build experience stores. Chaoyun Group, for example, has 77 offline pet stores with 82% revenue growth.
Small Brands: Focus on niche breakthroughs, such as creating a best-selling snack via Douyin to achieve rapid volume growth.
Group & Regional Targeting: Prioritize online content marketing in big cities with young pet owners; focus on offline services in sinking markets and for middle-aged/elderly customers.
Private Domain Operation: Build customer groups to share pet care knowledge and provide online Q&A, turning one-time buyers into loyal fans and reducing reliance on paid traffic.
Core Insight: Product Power is the Cornerstone of Reputation
The core of channel transformation has always been to connect users more accurately and build trust. As a R&D and manufacturing partner behind pet brands, we understands that no matter how channels change, product power is the foundation of reputation. We will continue to focus on providing safe, effective, and differentiated health product formulas and flexible production solutions to support brands’ long-term development.
