What Can We Learn from South Korea’s “Pet Family” Consumption Wave?
As social structures evolve and emotional needs grow, South Korea is witnessing a consumption wave where pets are thoroughly regarded as family members. This shift is not only reshaping the market but also offering valuable insights for China’s pet industry, which is similarly facing trends of low birth rates and an aging population.
The rapid growth of South Korea’s pet market is driven by both economic stability and emotional demand. With a per capita GDP exceeding $36,000, more households can afford pet-related expenses. Meanwhile, severe aging and the world’s lowest fertility rate (0.75) have led pets to gradually replace traditional family roles, becoming essential emotional companions. The popularity of the term “petfam” (pet family) vividly reflects this trend.
Within this wave, consumption behaviors have noticeably upgraded: pet food and snacks dominate daily expenses, while medical care has become the largest single expenditure, averaging over 1 million KRW annually. More notably, service-based consumption—such as pet hotels, daycare centers, and even funeral services—is rapidly emerging, indicating a shift from merely “feeding” pets to comprehensively caring for them as “family members.”
South Korea’s experience highlights several key directions: First, strengthen the emotional perception of “pets as family” by promoting the value of companionship through content. Second, expand service types to include new areas such as behavioral training, rehabilitation care, and social activities. Additionally, it is crucial to accelerate the establishment of industry standards and legal safeguards while advancing the functional and intelligent development of products to meet consumers’ rising demands for quality and health management.
The South Korean market demonstrates that, amid demographic changes and consumption upgrades, the pet economy is accelerating its transition from basic feeding to emotional consumption and full-lifecycle services.
