China’s Growing Pet Spend: What Owners Are Paying For

These individual stories sit within a sizeable consumer market. According to China Pet Industry White Paper 2026, China's urban dog and cat market reached RMB 312.6 billion in 2025, while the pet population nationwide exceeded 120 million.

TGM China Pet Care Insights 2026 provides a closer look at these behaviors. The findings suggest that pet spending is becoming connected with a wider set of needs around professional care, convenience, health, technology and the emotional relationship between owners and their pets.

According to TGM China Pet Care Insights 2026, pet spending increased by 45% compared with the previous years. Among Chinese consumers with multiple pets, spending increased by 52% (N=817).

Monthly expenditure provides another view of the pet budget. In TGM's China research, $126 to $150 was the most commonly reported monthly spending range (approximatley RMB 850 – RMB 1,000), selected by 13% of Chinese pet owners surveyed (N=487).

The TGM report provides some context for what can sit inside those budgets. TGM describes a pet industry that now includes food, clothing, beauty, training, fitness and medical care. External reporting also points to travel and mobility, boarding, photography parts of the service economy surrounding pets. (Xinhua, 2025)

The commercial significance lies in the growing number of occasions when an owner can choose to spend on a pet. Food and everyday essentials remain central to pet ownership, while professional care, mobility, technology and other specialized needs create additional spending occasions.

For brands, this creates a different way to think about the Chinese pet consumer. The opportunity is no longer limited to increasing purchase frequency within established categories. New spending can also appear when businesses solve practical needs around how owners live with their animals.

Pet-Friendly Travel Is Creating New Spending Occasions

These developments suggest that the opportunity surrounding pet spending can extend beyond companies traditionally considered part of the pet industry. Mobility providers, airlines, airports and other service businesses can all encounter consumers who want their pets included in everyday activities.

Professional Services Are Taking a Larger Role

These examples illustrate how emotional attachment can create demand across different stages and needs within pet ownership, including categories that previously sat far outside everyday pet spending.

Personalization and health technology also attract considerable interest. 38% are interested in personalized nutrition plans, another 38% in pet health-tracking wearables, and 33% in telemedicine or virtual veterinary consultations, according to TGM's China study (N=817).

For global pet brands, expertise in health, nutrition, technology and specialized care can provide differentiation, particularly when products are adapted to Chinese consumer behaviors and local service ecosystems. Brands that can demonstrate reliability and meaningful benefits have an opportunity to address needs that Chinese owners are already showing interest in.

For domestic Chinese brands, close access to local consumers, e-commerce environments, digital platforms and service networks can make it easier to respond quickly as new pet-care needs appear. The challenge will be creating stronger differentiation as consumers become more demanding about quality, functionality and trust.

Across both groups, the opportunity increasingly lies in understanding the specific problem an owner is willing to pay to solve.

• Methodology: Online interviews (CAWI – Computer-Assisted Web Interviewing)
• Sample Size: 1,135 participants in China
• Age Groups: 18–24, 25–34, 35–44, 45–54, 55+
• Country Coverage: China, Indonesia, Japan, Philippines, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam
and Turkey
• Data Weighting: Results have been weighted to reflect regional demographics for accurate market representation.