Fetching a Ride: Brands Roll Out Human-Grade Experiences for Pups

From Fido-friendly taxis to doggy ice cream, brands are stepping up their pet offerings to meet consumers’ demand to give their fur babies human-grade luxury.

Take Lyft, which announced Monday (Aug. 26) the launch of Pet rides, matching riders with a driver who is okay with pets for a $4 fee.

“At Lyft, we believe that everyone belongs, and that includes our four-legged family members,” Audrey Liu, EVP of Rider Experience at Lyft, said in a statement. “With Pet rides, we’re making it easier than ever for pet owners to get where they need to go with their pets, while also encouraging responsible pet ownership and adoption.”

Yet this is not the most luxurious pet transportation experience that has been launched even in the last year. In the spring, subscription dog treat company BarkBox rolled out Bark Air, which lets dog owners reserve flights on Gulfstream 550 private jets where their pets can travel in the main cabin.

“The interest and enthusiasm around BARK Air to date have been overwhelming,” Bark CEO and co-founder Matt Meeker said in a statement in June, as the company expanded the offering. “We are excited to expand BARK Air’s service to new cities and through new routes, accommodating customer demand and bringing our unique, stress-free dog-centric travel experience to even more families.”

Additionally, some pet care brands are adding more human-like food options for fur babies. Take Van Leeuwen’s partnership with dog food brand Ollie on ice cream for dogs, which kicked off in May.

“A growing number of Americans think of their dog as a member of the family, and that can be seen in every single decision they make as a pet parent,” Ollie Chief Marketing Officer Hillary Benjamin told PYMNTS in an interview. “It’s driven an explosion in new businesses who are catering to these pet parents who want to pamper and protect their dogs with luxury as if they were a human.”

Tightening Belts — Not Collars

PYMNTS Intelligence research indicates that, even in times of financial pressures, consumers are less inclined to make cutbacks on the products that they buy for their pets than on those they buy themselves. According to last year’s study, “Consumer Inflation Sentiment Report: Consumers Cut Back by Trading Down,” which surveyed over 2,000 U.S. consumers, 47% of shoppers had opted to buy from a cheaper merchant for at least one grocery item due to inflation. Despite 33% downgrading their sources for personal care products and 32% for snacks, only 19% of grocery shoppers said they had chosen cheaper alternatives for pet food and supplies.

The report also highlighted that 36% of grocery shoppers switched to more affordable versions of the same products, trading down to options such as store brands. Supplementary findings revealed that although 26% of consumers did this for their snacks and 25% for sugary treats, only 12% of shoppers had opted for lower-quality pet food and supplies, making it the category with the smallest proportion of such changes compared to other grocery items.

“People are still bringing pets into their family and at increased rates,” Jonathan Wainberg, GM of Synchrony’s Pet business, told PYMNTS in an interview earlier this year. “And they are spending more.”