Pet Market Grows Explosively

Some 10 million people live with pets in Korea, and the pet market has increased by an average of 20 percent a year.

BC Card analyzed card transactions by 100 million customers who have made payments to pet-related businesses over the past year and found that sales grew an average of 20.5 percent annually over the last three years.

Their combined sales stood at W337 billion in 2017, up 45.2 percent from W232 billion in 2015 (US$1=W1,078).

Naturally such businesses are densely concentrated in Seoul and other metropolitan areas. Some 32 percent of the pet industry's overall sales were made in Gyeonggi Province surrounding the capital, followed by Seoul (26 percent), Busan (8.1 percent), Daegu (6 percent) and South Gyeongsang Province (5.2 percent).

Veterinary clinics accounted for 60.9 percent of the total sales, followed by products with 21 percent and grooming shops with 17.5 percent.

Women outnumbered men three to two in spending on pets. By age group, people in their 30s spent the most with 24.8 percent, followed by those in their 40s (24.4 percent) and 50s (24.1 percent).