• by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer @lauriesullivan, August 4, 2017

Search data pulled from top pet supply websites during the month of June 2017 provides brands with insight into how they should tailor their advertising messages toward cat owners versus dog owners.

It's no surprise that data pulled from Hitwise, a Connexity company, shows that the majority of cat owners are women -- at 58% -- compared with 42% of males. Most earn between $40,000 and nearly $50,000 annually. Here again, dog owners are mostly women, at 53% vs. 47% -- but they bring in an annual income of between $75,000 and nearly $100,000.

The analysis also shows that one of the best ways brands can increase market share is to better understand how their existing or potential consumers search on different online marketplaces.

Hitwise compared internal cat vs. dog-related searches within two major pet supply websites. Both pet supply sites receive more dog searches, but the difference is slightly greater for Site A with 4.96% more dog searches, compared with than Site B, with 3.13% more dog searches.

"The ratio between cat and dog searches shifts if you narrow down to a single food brand, like Purina," per the findings. "Site A has over 2.5X more dog-related Purina searches than cat-related ones; for Site B, both cat and dog-related Purina searches are dead even."

The industry continues to go through a major shift, per Hitwise, with some of the biggest names in the brick-and-mortar pet world buying up their web competitors.

While PetSmart’s acquisition of Chewy.com in April might signal consolidation in the pet supply industry, it also identifies a move to keep the dollars away out of Amazon's coffers. The online marketplace continues to pull in a major share of pet-related purchases.

Getting a clear picture of the search advertising landscape in the pet supply industry, Hitwise ranked the top 10 most-visited websites in the Pets & Animals industry as of May 2017. Chewy remains the most dominant e-commerce player. Along with PetSmart, the two pull in more than 10% of pet industry visit share, per Hitwise data.

For visits to web-only sites, Chewy pulls in 6.6%; PetSmart, 4.17%; Petfinder, 3.8%; Petco, 3.5%; PetMD, 3.5%; The Animal Rescue Site, 3.3%; Honest to Paws, 2.8%; AdoptaPet, 2.4%; American Kennel Club, 2%; and theilovedogssite, 1.7%.

Hitwise data also found that Chewy captured the most visit share within the Pets & Animals industry, but did not receive the most search share. Search share data was pulled between May 2014 and June 2017.

The top 10 branded searches driving traffic to the pet industry, based on terms, pulled in more than 12 rolling weeks, ending June 24.

Hitwise charted the terms for three years and saw that PetSmart and Petco pulled the bulk of branded searches. Chewy pulled in more website visits. Analysis attributes the likeness to high paid- and organic-search performance, competitive pricing and other strategies that caught the attention of PetSmart, which ultimately acquired the company, according to Rochelle Bailis, Hitwise global director of content.

Searches for Petsmart and Petco have been in relative decline since August of last year, while searches for Chewy and Chewy.com have accelerated, per Bailis.

Hitwise also analyzed the data from the journey that shoppers took before and after they visited Chewy.com, specifically in relation to Amazon, and found Amazon conquested a significant number. The data shows that Amazon pulled nearly 200,000 additional post-Chewy visitors looking to compare prices or complete their final purchase on Amazon instead.

Clickstream data pulled during the four weeks, ending June 24, 2017.