Survey reveals South African pet owners' buying behaviour

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According to data collected by SoundInsights, more than 90% of pet owners believe having a pet benefits their family’s well-being.

The first-party data collection service, which specialises in radio consumer insights, polled audiences from Jacaranda FM and East Coast Radio for its latest Pet Ownership Survey.

The results revealed interesting insights about how much South Africans spend on their pets and where they make their purchases.

Most pets sleep indoors

More than half of Jacaranda FM respondents own three or more pets compared to East Coast Radio’s audience - for whom one pet companion is enough according to 42% of listeners.

Dogs, cats and birds were the most popular pet choices among respondents.

More than half of those polled revealed that their pets spend the night indoors – with 49% of Jacaranda FM’s audience saying their animals sleep in their bed.

When it comes to choosing food for their fur babies, pet owners consider three important factors – vet recommendations, pet preference and cost.

Breed-specific, brand popularity, and natural/organic ranked the lowest.

Where do they spend their money?

Some owners purchase their pet food from a veterinarian clinic, but many prefer shopping at a grocery store or pet store.

Around 44% of East Coast Radio respondents buy pet food at their local grocery store, compared to 50% of Jacaranda FM’s audience who prefer their local pet store.

They are also willing to fork out between R500-R1,500 monthly on pet accessories such as toys.

More than half of respondents spend R100–R500.

Pet care and insurance

When it comes to pet care, more than 40% say they get information from the internet, followed by their vet.

Surprisingly, over 70% of respondents revealed that they did not have pet insurance for their furry friends.

For those with pet insurance, Dotsure, OUTsurance Pet, and Oneplan Pet Insurance were popular choices.

Whether they are cat people or dog people, South Africans’ buying behaviour shows that they care dearly about their pets.

They are willing to spend a fair amount of money to buy good quality food.

They also spend hundreds of rands buying accessories for their animal companions.

However, pet insurance might still be seen as an unnecessary expense or a grudge purchase.

About SoundInsights
SoundInsights is Kagiso Media Radio’s first-party radio listener data collection service for East Coast Radio and Jacaranda FM. The data product service offers a faster, more cost-efficient way to look at radio research, allowing any business or brand to collect consumer insights or develop campaigns built on… sound insights. From a simple poll asking for an opinion, to an in-depth survey, SoundInsights creates a deeper customer understanding and enables insight-based decisions. Research projects can be turned around in a couple of days and within smaller business budgets.