Pet Food Purchasing Behavior: A Comparative Study of Dog and Cat Owners

Abstract

This research aims to 1) investigate how consumers behave when making purchasing decisions for dog and cat pet food, 2) examine how marketing mix factors affecting these decisions, and to 3) compare the influences of both the consumer behavior and marketing mix  on these purchasing decisions.  A quota sampling method was used to gather data online from 800 respondents, 400 of whom were dog owners and 400 of whom were cat owners, who owned at least one dog or cat and had bought pet food in the previous three months. Descriptive statistics, multiple regression analysis, and chi-square testing were used to analyze the data.

The results of the comparative test between dog and cat owners revealed that there were four aspects of purchasing behavior without variable correlation: 1. The majority of respondents who had dogs and cats purchased dry food more frequently than wet food, making it the most popular food type. 2. Quality level: Most of them purchased standard quality food rather than premium quality. 3. Pet food stores were the most frequently visited and most commonly purchased store category. 4. It was discovered that social media was the most common source of information utilized to make decisions about purchases.

There were three aspects of purchasing behavior with variable correlation: 1. Purchase occasion - the majority of the  dog owners made their purchases when the food was almost gone, while the majority cat owners made their purchases when they felt the need. 2. Most frequently purchased brand - the majority of the dog owners bought Pedigree Royal Canin, and Smart Heart respectively, while the majority of the cat owners bought Royal Canin, Me-O, amd Whiskers, respectively. 3. Individual involved in the purchasing decision, the results indicated that most dog owners were more likely to involved family or relatives in the decision-making process, whereas most cat owners relied more likely to involve a significant other or partner.

The analysis of the marketing mix factors influencing the purchasing decisions of dog and cat owners revealed five differing aspects: product, price, place (distribution), marketing promotion, and personalization. When compared to cat owners, dog owners scored higher on the average of each sub-factor in all aspects.