Visual China.
Text |Stinging Institute, Author |Summer.As contemporary young people become more and more accustomed to living alone, pets have gradually become the emotional companions of single young people because of their emotional value. At the same time, in the past two years, the pet economic industry, which has developed rapidly around the clothing, food, housing and transportation of "hairy children", has also shown a trend of diversification and refinement.
Especially when pets become a part of life, the "shovel officer" also began to pay attention to the pet's own social needs, and even for this reason, like raising a child, he will not only take the pet out for a walk, but also participate in social activities specially organized for pets. As a result, a series of business scenarios such as pet socialization and pet gatherings have been derived.
In this context, "pet-friendly" has also become an online and offline traffic password, and some traditional offline formats actively cater to pet owners with the concept of "pet-friendly business". When the love of furry children becomes another connection between consumers and businesses, will pet socialization and pet friendliness be the new key to unlocking the pet economy?
Although rational consumption has become an obvious trend in the consumer market, the willingness of the "shovel officials" to consume has not diminished in the hairy children. According to the data of Jingdong Pet War Report, the turnover of pet staple wet food during this year's Double 11 increased by 128% year-on-yearThe turnover of plant cat litter increased by 550% year-on-year;In terms of smart products, which are popular consumers for pet raising, sales also achieved a year-on-year increase of 109%.
Adhering to the concept of "you can eat soil, but your furry child must be rich", pet owners are paying more and more attention to the social needs of their pets. In the past two weeks alone, there have been nearly 20 offline pet activities in Shanghai at the same time. The specific forms of activities include a series of outdoor social activities such as watching movies with pets, living in a co-house space with cats, offline gatherings in the countryside, and outdoor paddling with cubs. At the same time, pet-themed parties and pet tea parties are also becoming a new trend in the pet industry.
Photo courtesy of the interviewee.
The Stinging Research Institute found on platforms such as Xiaohongshu and Douyin that most pet gatherings are dominated by dogs, and the duration of the activity is generally less than one day. There are usually pet competitions, fashion shows, ** meetings, photo shoots, pet classes and other links in the activities. And considering the climatic factors in winter, some event organizers will also choose to hold the event indoors in a similar form of brewing tea around the hearth. In terms of the richness of activities alone, pet socialization is no less than a gathering of young people.
In November of this year, 1loku, a lifestyle gathering space in Shanghai, and an illustration exhibition jointly held a pet social party. Not only are there marine ball pools, obstacle races and other amusement items for pets, pet owners can also DIY a necklace for their pets on the spot, and they can also have an open-air movie with their furry children when night falls. Another Christmas-themed pet party, organized by the pet photography agency "Patago", included pet adoption and photo shooting, in addition to a pet-friendly store visit and canvas bag DIY experience.
In addition to the theme activities organized by businesses, social organizations such as pet communities and pet clubs often plan pet gatherings. Mermaid Ball, the manager of the "Dog Go Cute Pet Community", told the Stinging Research Institute that outdoor activities such as camping, hiking, and river tracing are very popular among pet owners. When comparing the fee standards of the event, the Stinging Research Institute found that most pet gatherings can be participated in for free, whether it is an urban pet gathering or an outdoor event. Even for fee-based activities** it will not be particularly high, generally within 50-300 yuan, which is in line with the acceptable social cost range of young people.
Photo courtesy of the interviewee.
As the organizer, Yuwan revealed to the Stinging Research Institute that the fee for the pet gathering is related to the venue of the event and the materials that need to be prepared on site. For example, when using the venue of the business, there will be a venue fee, and if you need to prepare meals and equipment materials on site, it will also increase part of the activity cost, and the fee will be more. "However, whether the event is charged will also depend on whether there is sponsorship, and generally we will be free of charge for activities sponsored by merchants. ”
In Yuball's view, the preparation and publicity of materials before a pet party event are very important. Because pet-based activities are still relatively niche, just finding an event venue that is acceptable and suitable for pets is very limited. In the process of the event, how to let the pets get along harmoniously and let the pet owners have fun is a great test of the organizer's event planning and on-site execution ability. "These are limitations, but also opportunities, because there are not many institutions willing to do such content planning and organization for this group, so every time there is an interesting event, many young people are still very happy to participate. Yumaru said.
We are a group of people who love pets and would love to meet friends who also love pets. This is a common slogan for offline pet social parties. And when the pet ** felt happy in the party, the shovel officer, who originally lived alone, also met other like-minded friends through the activity, and naturally formed a new social relationship.
Netizen September is a shovel officer and a photographer. After learning from Xiaohongshu that there was an offline pet party in his city, he participated in the event with the idea of going to the scene to capture the pet**. "Most of the activities I participated in were jointly organized by shopping malls and pet organizations, this kind of pet-based activities will avoid a lot of embarrassment, and social phobia people can also participate, and the parents (referring to pet owners) who participated on the scene did not know each other, but they could talk naturally after a round or two of games. The content of the game is also quite interesting, in addition to the common obstacle course, there are also 123 wooden people or handicraft experience games to play with dogs. ”
Photo courtesy of the interviewee.
Although the threshold for participating in pet gatherings is relatively low, some pet owners will send their furry children to special "pet schools" for training in order to adapt their pets to such group activities and participate in competitions such as obstacle courses. According to the research institute, there are many pet training courses, including squatting, handshake and other basic password training, as well as training courses for professional competitions that require pet owners and pets to carry out together. The charging standards of different training institutions are not uniform, ranging from three or four thousand yuan to tens of thousands of yuan.
Despite the enthusiasm of the "shovelers" for pet gatherings, the event organizers had very limited benefits. Yuyu, an event planner, told the Institute that planning a pet event requires planning the event time, finding the event venue, and contacting the event host and on-site photography, and the real charging items are only event props and meals. "Basically, I can only achieve a state of breakeven, and sometimes I work hard for two weeks, and I only earn 100 yuan in the end. ”
In order to spread the brand and promote the products, some pet products companies have also begun to hold some free pet activities, which makes many pet owners gradually form the wrong perception that the activities should be free, causing unnecessary trouble to the activities planned by individuals. Previously, when Yuyu organized the event, he was asked by pet owners such as "why don't you hold events to give prizes" and "138 yuan of activities to send annual pet insurance".
In fact, the problems that event organizers need to face are far more than what they see, and the safety of pets should not be underestimated. On social platforms, many netizens posted that their pets "ran away", "didn't know what to eat, were poisoned", and "infected with parasites" during outdoor activities, all of which bothered owners and event organizers.
Photo courtesy of the interviewee.
In addition, according to Yuyu, there is also the problem of breed discrimination among pet owners. "Some of the dogs participating in the event were precious breeds, and some were pastoral dogs. Some owners of breeds of dogs may not let their dogs play with their farm dogs. Yuyu said that while pet socialization looks wonderful, there is also a chain of contempt within it. "At the end of the day, pets are attached to humans, and the nature of pet socialization also depends on people. ”
With the continuous expansion of the scale of the pet group, especially under the group characteristics of high education, high income and strong consumption willingness presented by the pet group, the scene of pet socialization is not limited to small-scale circle party activities. More and more shopping malls and themed stores have also developed the concept of "pet friendly" to provide offline scenes for pet owners to attract high-quality customers.
According to the observation of the Stinging Research Institute, the requirements for pets in outdoor commercial streets are not high, and they usually only need to tie a leash to enter at will. Indoor shopping malls require pets to be on a leash, and only small and medium-sized dogs are allowed. It is worth mentioning that pet-friendly shopping malls will also provide disposable pet supplies, including pet diapers, poop bags, tear stain swabs, emergency snacks, etc., as well as pet strollers and smart locator rentals.
In some well-known shopping malls that emphasize the positioning of "pet friendly", hardware facilities such as pet toilets, pet-friendly elevators, and rest areas are even more essential. For example, Shanghai AI Plaza, which is often on the recommended list of pet-friendly shopping malls, has a free pet park in the external passage on the third floor of the mall, and is also equipped with drinking devices of different heights. In addition, the West Coast Phoenix Nest also held activities such as the Pet Life Festival and the ** Dog Public Welfare Station.
Another example is another shopping mall, Hangzhou Gaode Land Plaza, which has launched the world's first pet-themed block, including pet-exclusive restaurants, hotel-style boarding services, weekly pet activities, genetic testing rooms and other content. For example, KWG BMF (Chengdu) adopted a stray cat in 2021, and the position is positioned as "BMF Affinity Officer", specializing in the "work" of inspecting venues and stores.
Not only shopping malls are aiming for pet-friendly, but all kinds of coffee, tea restaurants, and trendy brand stores are keen to create pet-friendly theme stores. As the first pet-friendly coffee chain in China, Starbucks currently has more than 100 pet-friendly stores in China, which provide independent outdoor seating areas, exclusive cup slots, leash hooks, exclusive trash cans and other facilities, as well as pet-eaten cream.
In addition, more and more brands are realizing that embedding pet-friendly into their business strategies can attract more customers: Manner Coffee uses cross-border co-branding to launch pet store areas and peripheral design, Seesaw Coffee uses cats and dogs as doormen to attract consumers, Taier Sauerkraut Fish can be exchanged for cat food in the way of passwords, McDonald's launches cat kennel and cat bag, and Sorry Dog, a coffee brand known as "cat-friendly", whose first store in Shanghai splits the space into " cat-friendly" and "dog-friendly", and even took into account the cat's habits to create an intimate cat box and an artificial wooden mountain ......
Regardless of whether "pet-friendly" is a competitive strategy based solely on commercial considerations, the inclusiveness given to pets by merchants reflects respect for consumers. Especially considering the emotional value behind pet raising behavior, attracting pet owners by getting furry children has greatly affected the preference of pet groups for stores.
From pet gatherings to the creation of "pet-friendly" shopping malls, behind the popularity of "pet-friendly" is the commercial value of pet owners because of pet "labels". With the continuous upgrading of the pet economy, the continuous heating up of "pet-friendly" business has become the general trend, and more consumer products and services built around pets are coming to the "shovel officials".
The names of Yuqiu, September, and Yuyu in the article are pseudonyms.