Pet Economy: Chinese pet market valued at over $19 bln

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Today we continue with the second episode of our Spending Smart series. In this episode, we'll discover China's pet economy. From basic items to travel, China's pet owners are exploring a variety of ways to express their love for their furry companions. For businesses, this is undoubtedly a huge opportunity. CGTN's Christy Scull looks at the rising pet market in China.

Ms. Wang says she treats her dog like her own son: grooming, spas and even dating, she tries every way to spoil this poodle.

MS. WANG PET OWNER "I spent about 1,500 US dollars on him last year and doubled the budget this year."

She's one of the many who spend a big sum of money on their furry friends, which has led to a booming pet market. Over the past few years, Beijing has seen the fast emergence of pet-related shops, including pet-themed restaurants or cafes, retail stores and pet-lover clubs. Most of these target the rising middle-income class.

TONG MENGMENG, OWNER XIAOTONG PET SALON "Our VIP membership card costs more than 7 thousand US dollars. Each member spends at least 436 dollars per month. They're all pet lovers who want their pets to live quality lives."

The pet fever is also quickly expanding to online platforms. JD.com, Taobao and other major e-commerce platforms have set up pet categories. On Taobao.com, approximately 1.2 billion US dollars was spent on merchandise related to cats in 2017. More pet brands provide online and offline services. Dogwhere is one such market player.

WANG CHAO, BUSINESS DIRECTOR DOGWHERE "For online service, the Dogwhere app has three million users who raise pets and take pets to travel. For offline service, our pet hotel has welcomed tens of thousands of pets since it opened less than a year ago."

And that's in Beijing alone, where more than one million households own at least one pet dog. A white paper published by Goumin.com says that China's pet market is valued at over 19 billion US dollars, and is growing at 30.9% per year.