A report released by Sensis today has revealed that Australians aren’t slowing down when it comes to spending on their pets. They are happy to spoil their pet animals with presents, clothing, and even expensive bling.

Ms Christina Singh, author of the report, said that Australians were likely to keep their pet inside the house and buy more presents for them because they have a deep, emotional attachment to their pets, and want to treat them more like a member of the family.

“Half of all Australian households have a pet. And more than one in 10 households own three or more pets,” Ms Singh said.

The most popular pets continue to be dogs, followed by birds, fish and poultry. Puppies and dogs are the most common animal searches on tradingpost.com.au, with Staffy, Maltese and Labrador breeds reigning supreme.

Retailers also appear to be popular in the search engines; “Last year alone, there were more than 800,000 searches for pet shops on yellow.com.au, and more than 365,000 searches for dog and cat clipping and grooming. Searches for both these pet categories have grown 14 per cent in the past year.”

Ms Singh found that almost half of all owners bought presents for their pets leading up to Christmas or for birthdays; and women (46%) were more likely to buy them than men (31%).

“We are also seeing about one in 10 owners buying clothing or bling for their pets, and this is fairly consistent across income groups,” said Ms Singh. “In fact, on our TradingPost site, we’re seeing a range of specialty pet goods being sold – everything from rain coats and dog carry bags to indoor dog toilets, pearl collars and doggie treadmills.”

On average, Australians spend about $1,083 per year on their pets according to the report, although there are exceptions; “Interestingly, one per cent of pet owners said they spent in excess of $5,000 per year taking care of their pet.”

Source: Sensis, June 2008