CPG sales have slumped a bit over the last 12 months, but spending on pet-related goods is bucking the trend, with dollar store channels in particular seeing a spike in growth.

According to Numerator data, overall consumer goods spending decreased by 3% year-over-year, but during the same comparative period, purchases on pet food and treats increased by 2%.

The numbers reveal that while grocery stores (39%) and mass retailers such as Walmart (31%) remain the most popular choice for pet parents, dollar channels have seen the largest growth in share with respect to the number of trips made during the past 12 months. Dollar store share grew by 1.6% to 12.4% in a period when grocery’s share dipped and mass retailer share was flat.

This growth is especially telling, the report notes, since dollar stores were under lock-down for a significant portion of the past year.

Dollar stores also reflected the largest growth in household spend over the previous 12 months, although consumers have increased their spending on pet products in all retail channels.

Numerator’s Canadian OmniPanel data also reveals that from Spring 2021 to Spring 2022, the increase in buy rate for cat and dog food and treats shows a direct correlation to the number of trips made to buy those products. That number has increased by 15% over the same period a year ago.

While the number of trips in March 2022 also increased significantly over the the previous month, February 2022 had the fewest number of trips in the past 12 month period. Numbers have not yet reached the same levels as their 12-month high in July 2021, when Canada first loosened restrictions on essential in-store shopping.

The average spend per trip of $15.57 in March 2022 remained fairly consistent with the spend per trip a year ago, but it remains well below the $16.46 spend per trip reported in January 2022.

While pet owners increased their spend on all pet products over the past year, owners of large dogs spent 7% less than their small dog counterparts on snacks. That said, large dog owners did spend a whopping 61% more on food for their pets than small dog owners.