Despite growing living costs, the pet purchasing frenzy continues.

During the Covid epidemic, pet ownership grew even more, with store Pets at Home anticipating record sales and profits.

The company reported a "record Christmas" with robust revenue growth across its 445 UK stores and 300 vet and grooming locations.

Sales were up 8.7% in the third quarter compared to 2020 and 28.1 percent compared to 2019.

People are unlikely to cut back on pet expenditures, according to boss Peter Pritchard, despite rising living costs.

I think history shows us that cutting back on pets is one of the last things people do; they are much more likely to cut back on a vacation or a big discretionary buy, he told the BBC's Today Programme.

Pets are considered members of the family. We expect income to be quite good this year, owing to the fact that there are more pets in the country than ever before.

Pets at Home said in a trading statement that it was experiencing a variety of inflationary pressures across its supply chain and that it planned to address them by pursuing rent reductions at its stores and "operational efficiency" across the board.
Mr Pritchard acknowledged that clients were under duress.

He went on to say, We want to keep pet ownership incredibly reasonable for our customers.

In the 12-week period from October 8 to December 30, 2021, he said the company was on track to produce a record year of revenue and earnings growth, adding that the company had served more pet owners than "ever before.

We actually groomed 90,000 dogs in December alone, 5,500 dogs on Christmas Eve alone, so it was a very busy Christmas for us, Mr Pritchard added.

Pets at Home is a store that sells pet supplies as well as small animals and fish.

It also offers grooming and veterinary services for cats and dogs, as well as discounts for members of its Puppy & Kitten Club.

Mr Pritchard revealed that the lockdown-induced pet-buying frenzy was showing no signs of abating, with the company's retail section welcome 25,000 new clients every week and its vet business receiving more than 9,000 new client registrations.

He stated, There are more pet owners than ever before.

The Pet Food Manufactures' Association reported in March 2021 that 3.2 million families in the UK had purchased a new pet since the pandemic began.

According to Matt Britzman, an equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, pet humanisation is on the rise, with owners passing on their own health and food values to their pets - even going as far as having their own social media following.

That's greater opportunity for those in the servicing sector - it's frequently the more premium brands that provide for these specific demands, providing sales and margins a welcome boost,he said.

As working from home becomes more popular and households prefer places that give more room, he added, UK pet ownership shows little indications of slowing down.

Since the outbreak, millions of households in the United Kingdom have purchased a new pet.

According to Matt Britzman, an equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, pet humanisation is on the rise, with owners "passing on their own health and food values to their pets - even going as far as having their own social media following.

That's greater opportunity for those in the servicing sector - it's frequently the more premium brands that provide for these specific demands, providing sales and margins a welcome boost, he said.

As working from home becomes more popular and households prefer places that give more room," he added, UK pet ownership shows little indications of slowing down.

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