South Korean pet product sales exceed baby products, birth rate drops
Multiple data showed on the 2nd that due to the decline in the birth rate and the increase in households raising pets, South Korea's pet market is rapidly surpassing the baby market in the fields of food, strollers, medical and other products and services.
The Korea Times reported on the 2nd citing data from the e-commerce platform Gmarket that in the first five months of this year, 69% of sales of pet food and human infant formula came from pet products.
The data also shows that among the strollers sold by Gmarket in the first three quarters of 2023, 43% were strollers and 57% were pet strollers mainly designed for cats and dogs. This is the first time that pet stroller sales have exceeded stroller sales in South Korea.
Data from the medical and veterinary industry show that as of November 2023, there are twice as many pet hospitals as children’s hospitals.
In addition, data from the Statistics Korea show that the number of pet dogs registered with the Seoul City Government in 2023 will be 622,000, while the number of newborns in Seoul from 2014 to 2023 totaled 594,000.
In 2023, South Korea's total fertility rate, that is, the average number of children per woman, was 0.72, reaching a record low. This value is well below the 2.1 required to maintain population stability without immigration. In comparison, as of 2022, more than 5.5 million households and more than 12 million people in South Korea are raising pets. The number of pet owners accounts for nearly a quarter of South Korea's total population.
Industry insiders expect that the trend of South Korea's pet care market surpassing the baby care market will become more obvious in the next few years. They pointed out that the pet market size will grow to 6 trillion won in 2027 after reaching 4 trillion won in 2023.