The “economic” is driving the demand for jobs in the relevant industries. Recently, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security has issued a seventh series of new occupations, including 17 new occupations and 42 new jobs. Among the new jobs, a “service dog trainer” has been added in connection with the pet economy. Also, in the second quarter of 2025, the Talent Market Hotspot, published by the Federation, demand for recruitment in modern services increased significantly in the second quarter of this year. Of these, pet services are at the top of all services with 72.2 per cent of recruitments.
The proportion of pet hairdressers in overall recruitment positions in the pet service industry was 46.1 per cent, an increase of 73.9 per cent over the same period, while the proportion of pet doctors was 17.8 per cent, an increase of 171.1 per cent. Together, they constitute a dual engine of demand for talent in the industry.
At the same time, data from the 2024 pets index (the pet store version) report show that of the major core items collected by pets, retail items such as cat food, canine food, pet snacks and cat-dog items have generally been growing poorly, while the pet services component has been growing at a high level. Throughout 2024, pet shop service companies collected a large volume of $15.438 billion, an increase of 6.59 per cent over the same period.
The pet economy is booming. During this year's “6/18” period, the 100-minute sale of the Skycat platform pets exceeded the full amount on the first day of last year; the first hour of the sale doubled the number of 653 pets; within four hours, nine brands were sold for tens of millions; and the same increase was 180 per cent.
Data show that the sale of pets between Li Jia Qi live shows an increase of 73 per cent over the same period, and that the need for hoarding and consumption upgrades has just emerged. The consumption of pets has shifted from basic “saturation” to “quality” and the sale of high-frequency consumables such as cat and dog staples, snacks and cat sand has risen sharply.
Official data from Kyoto pets show that within 28 hours of the opening of the “6/18” door, there was a 23 per cent increase in the number of transactional users, a significant increase in high-value users and a 78 per cent increase in PLUS users. There were more than 500 brands whose turnover doubled over the same period, and more than 130 per cent of the total volume of commodity transactions.
During what is worth buying the platform “6/18” to open the door, pet clothing, pet staple food, pet deworming, pet nutrition, pet snack GMV increased by 333.89 per cent, 175.86 per cent, 167.02 per cent, 100.97 per cent and 69.33 per cent, respectively.
According to China ' s food industry analyst, Chu Danbhorn, our country, as the largest stock market for the global pet industry and the highest incremental market, has maintained a high compound growth rate over the past three years. In the context of functional and disaggregated upgrading, the domestic pet food market is ushering in a new phase of upgrading the development dividend, but new trends have also brought about a higher threshold of innovation, upgrading and iterative issues for enterprises.
A director of the pet service platform said that the pet service platform was an enabler and connector, not a substitute. The quality and experience of the final service remain highly dependent on first-line expertise. This also means that building a better professional and standardized service talent system is the key to determining the sustainability of future outbreaks in the pet service industry.
The pet industry in China already has the potential for rapid development. With the spread of the “peter friendly” concept, more and more enterprises are exploring cross-border integration of the pet economy with other industries and innovative applications in different contexts. Enterprises such as dairy, food, make-up and others rely on supply chains and brand advantages to enter the pet track to introduce high-end sub-brands or innovative products.