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| Uncommon Sense | Sparky and Spot's $5 billion shopping spree
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I don't know about you, but I didn't expect to add genuine alligator collars, Prada pet booties and kitty toilet-training seats to my shopping list this season. Who knew?
By MP Dunleavey
If you had to guess what kind of products Americans were going to drop a bundle on this holiday season, what would it be? Electronics? Maybe. Toys? Getting warmer.
In the next few weeks, consumers are going to spend about $5 billion on gifts for their pets.
This year, total pet-related sales are projected to be $31 billion. According to the American Pet Products Manufacturing Association, that's way more than the $20.3 billion sales of the "human popular toy industry."
Now, I love my cats. And I'm even willing to shell out the big bucks (79 cents a can) for fancy Iams pet food. So it's not like I can't understand a little pet indulgence. But what in the world are we spending $31 billion on?
The pricey world of pets
The first thing I learned while doing research for this piece is that I, too, am a potential sucker for pet luxuries. I observed this while toodling through Karen's for People + Pets, a high-end pet store in Manhattan.
They had the most tasteful-looking designer litter box scooper I have ever seen. For $21. And I was tempted, until I considered what that deluxe item would be used for on a daily basis.
To fully understand where our $31 billion in pet expenditures is going, it helps to take a peek into the world of upscale pet life. In the back of Karen's, six dogs stood on individual tables, each one catered to by a trained canine stylist. When I inquired about what it would cost to groom my fictional Labrador, the total -- for bath, blow dry, nails, ears and a trim (including tax, but not tip) was $94.50.
Here you also can buy a genuine alligator pet collar for $400, a fur-trimmed down vest by Puppia of Tokyo for $65 (hey, it's cold when you first hop out of the limo!) and a thing that looks like a footstool but costs $250. I assume it's a chaise lounge of sorts.
"People are obsessed with their pets," says Parkin Saunders, an interior designer who caters to the luxury crowd. He says it's not uncommon to see a pet with its own room in wealthier homes. "I've seen people build huge dog runs with stone walls that probably cost more than the average American home," he adds with a smoky Southern drawl. "Nothing surprises me anymore," he adds. "I've given up on shock."
Forget the economy, get me an iguana
Not me. I'm still open to astonishment. Which is what I felt when I learned that spending on pets has not slowed in these last few lean years. Mais non! Pet-related spending has increased by $4 billion in the last couple of years alone -- from $27 billion in 2001 to (have I mentioned?) $31 billion projected for this year. And it's close to double the $17 billion it was in 1994.
Melanie Frenkel, a spokesperson with Orca Communications, a pet product PR firm, says that the pet industry expanded rapidly after Sept. 11, 2001, as people focused more on their homes, families, cats and dogs (birds, fish, iguanas, etc.). "People started treating (pets) more like family members," she says.
This has led to a boom in pet products like you've never seen. Some are nutty, like the new potty seat for cats at CatSeat.com, which supposedly is guaranteed to train your cats to use the toilet. (But who flushes, inquiring minds want to know?)
Some are intriguing, even to cynics like me. Orca Communications just released their online Best Pet Products Holiday Guide, featuring a few of the ones they think are most innovative. The Panic Mouse toy, for example, is a motorized "mouse" that hangs from a pole and is programmed to make "mouselike" movements. Best part: You can set the timer to have cats play on their own for a couple of hours.
But even Frenkel is astonished by some of the extravagances she sees in the industry. "It's excessive when people are willing to pay thousands for an outfit by Kate Spade or Prada for their pets," she says.
Still, says Tierra Griffiths, spokesperson for the pet products association, despite what the human market has been experiencing, luxury pet items are a huge trend. "We're definitely seeing an increase in people buying nonessential pet products," she says.
What's good for the owner ...
"Another trend we're seeing is that a lot of human product manufacturers are recognizing this is such a growth industry that they're entering the pet product market at a faster rate."
Paul Mitchell, otherwise known for human grooming, is launching a line of pet-care products. OPI nail polish has created "Pawlish" for pets. And a growing number of hotels provide pet amenities like special beds, toys and snacks. Yup. Three brands of the Starwood chain -- Sheraton, Westin and W hotels -- just launched the LTD, "Love That Dog," program, to cater to the 29 million people who travel avec chien.
Just call to check the prices before you book your room. The W in Chicago, for example, charges a $125 cleaning fee up front, plus $25 per stay. And according to a recent New York Times article, the exclusive Trianon Palace Hotel in Paris now offers a $400-a-night "Heavenly Pets" package. Doggie room service and everything.
Griffiths speculates, based on data the association gathers from pet-owner surveys, that people are recognizing the true value of their pets. She points out that numerous scientific studies have shown that pets reduce stress and some pet owners tend to have lower blood pressure. "They give us so much love and joy, you want to give back," she says. "So I guess it makes you feel warm and fuzzy to see your pet lying on a $2,000 doggie bed." She chuckles. "Of course my dogs get the Costco wool pad."
I've browsed through a number of Web sites that offer pet products. And they can tug at your maternal pet heart. I may be cynical, but I am not immune to the charm of having an art deco chaise lounge from PuppyBoutique.com or a super-cute food bowl from Melia Luxury Pet designed for the creature in your life. But let's face it, I would never buy one.
This is not to say that those of you who can afford such pampering for your pet shouldn't go for it. Or should you? If I had a spare $500, would I think that a pet bed was the best way to invest it?
Personal finances are all about the choices we make. And who am I, Ms. Crate & Barrel addict, to criticize how anyone else spends their money? Still, I draw the line at spending hundreds of dollars on a pet funeral or on a pet psychic to contact them in the afterlife. And I have to admit, when I saw the bottle of "Kitty Cabernet" -- a wine-shaped bottle of cat snacks -- at Karen's For People + Pets for $18, I snorked.
But really. Who wouldn't rather have a nice bottle of real Cabernet for you-know-who? I'm deeply attached to my kitties, but my theory is that I'd appreciate it a lot more than they would.
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