The pet economy has continued to warm in the last two years, from smart feeders to pet theme hotels, from high-end medical care to pet marathons, and the industrial chain continues to expand. According to China's White Paper on the Petty Industry (Consumer Report) 2025, the size of the Chinese pet industry has exceeded 700 billion yuan last year and is expected to reach 1,15 trillion yuan by 2028. Behind this “gold tide” is the “triple pacing” of emotional demand, consumption escalation and changes in social structures.
The “hot” of the pet economy starts with the changing role of the pet. At present, teenage and ageing accelerates the transition of pets from “tools” to “accompaniment”, especially for young people living alone in first- and second-line cities and for elderly people living in nests, who provide emotional comfort and relieve social stress and isolation. At the same time, consumption upgrades have laid the foundation for the pet economy, which is more willing to buy organic foods, snacks, toys and even high medical expenses for pets.
In essence, the pet economy is an extension of the “single economy” and the deeper drivers of change in social structures. In the case of Jiangsu, for example, the urbanization rate of Jiangsu is over 74 per cent, and the proportion of young people living alone and elderly people living in empty nests has increased, resulting in emotional compensation for pets.
The pet consumption heat is also in the context of the “full chain” innovation. On the one hand, it has benefited from the traditional creation of “cross-border” breakouts: Suzhou Science and Technology has introduced smart home appliances such as smart feeders and smart pet cleaners. In Jiangsu province, a cancer-resistant pet developed by the Tanside team at the Agricultural Institute filled the gap in the country ' s dog tumour immunization. The Ayber Pet Hospital in Nanjing introduced a pet-ct test, with a single charge of over $1,000 still short of demand.
On the other hand, the rise of the pet economy is affecting the development of the cultural tourism industry: test areas such as the Changzhou Dragon Gardens have been accompanied by water, and the residential accommodations of former masters have been transformed into “Meatsloft”; the first “Pet Friendly Public Transport Line” in the country has been launched by Tinless to explore the symbiotic path between urban management and the pet economy.
However, the rapid expansion of the industry has also revealed problems. For example, there is a lack of uniform standards in areas such as pet medicine, and there is a high incidence of indiscriminate charges and over-medicine; for example, high-end services run for thousands of dollars, while basic public services such as vaccination and sterilization are not adequately provided. Also of note is the growing problem of abandonment caused by blind and unpopular care, and the increase in the number of homeless animals increases the cost of social assistance.
There is still a need for cold thinking in the heat, and rational guidance is more important than blind pursuit. Regulatory authorities need to accelerate the development of industry standards, and enterprises should avoid over-marketing and return to the nature of addressing real needs. Consumers should be more aware of the fact that rearing is not just a consumption act, but a responsibility for life, and that there is a need to move away from an impulsive rearing mentality.
The “turning out” of the pet economy is essentially people's desire for warmth and company. Only by retaining the temperature in the norms can a “two-way cure” be achieved — to meet the emotional needs of humans and to safeguard the well-being of animals. After all, a civilized society is reflected not only in how people are treated, but also in how animals are treated.