Marketing by the Numbers: Man’s Furry Friends

Americans love their pets, with 62 percent of households spending more than $50 billion on
them last year. You may have one or more furry, feathery, or scaly friends yourself, so you know
how much money you spend each year. Marketers need to know that information to estimate the
size of a potential market segment, and past market sales are often used as a baseline to estimate
next year’s market sales. The National Pet Products Manufacturers Association (NPPMA)
conducts a yearly survey of pet owners that provides useful information for estimating market
size and potential.
6-1 Refer to Appendix 3: Marketing by the Numbers and use the information available from
the NPPMA survey (www.americanpetproducts.org/press_industrytrends.asp) to develop
an estimate of the market potential for dog food in the United States. Do the same for cat
food. (AACSB: Written and oral communication; Information technology; Analytical
thinking)
6-2 Evaluate the usefulness of these market segments. (AACSB: Written and oral
communication; Information technology; Reflective thinking