Brits are spending £64 million MORE on PETS than PARTNERS for Christmas!

There are more than 9 million dogs in the UK, with 92% of London households owning a pooch and 14% owning cats*. That means there is a huge scope for pet-related products in a growing market.

In 2017, OnBuy.com reported that Brits would spend £750million on their pets over the festive period, with 25% of pet owners admitting to spending more on their pets than their friends. This number has only increased over the years, and so OnBuy were keen to explore what this figure could be over this year’s festive period, compared to previous years, and whether Brits spend more or less on their partners compared to their pets. To find out, they surveyed 2,972 Brits and the figures are pretty mind-blowing.

Spending Habits Revealed!
In 2019, it was reported that more than £6.5 billion was spent on pet related products in the UK**, and data from OnBuy suggests that more than £2 billion of that would have been Christmas related gifts!

OnBuy’s survey revealed that 74% of pet owners wrap up their presents for their furry family members to open up on Christmas day.

Toys seem to be the most popular of gifted presents bought for pets, with 53% spending most of their pet present budget on toys. This was followed closely by treats (42%). Collars were the least popular presents for Brits to purchase for their pets at just 3%.

How does this compare?
From the data collected by OnBuy, it has been calculated that Brits are set to spend more than 64 million pounds on their pets than their partners! Respondents were asked how much they spent on their pets and how much they spent on their partners respectively for the 2019 festive period, and how much they planned to spend in 2020.

In 2019 27% of Brits spent an average of £75 on their partners for the festive period. For 2020, that number has dropped to 24% of Brits intending to spend that amount on their partners. It seems Brits are more willing to spend £75 on partners than pets, as only 14% of Brits intend to spend that same amount on their pets.

In 2019, 13% of Brits reported that they spent more than £100 on their partners. For 2020, the figure has dropped to just 9% planning to spend more than £100.

However, in 2019, only 5% of Brits were reported to have spent £100 or more on their pets. For 2020, 11% of Brits intend to spend £100 or more on their family pets.