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Engagement fell QoQ in lifestyle categories such as Pets (-0.25 percentage points), Home & Garden, and Travel (both -0.10 percentage points). How we got here: As we鈥檝e covered, tariff-induced uncertainty has unsettled consumers. This has trickled into YouTube viewing habits: Organic engagement is rising in categories that offer practical value, while more discretionary content saw declines.

The pet adoption boom went bust: As the number of new pet owners normalizes, Chewy and Petco are looking to healthcare and services to drive growth.

A Wall Street Journal analysis of about 2,500 items on Amazon found rising prices on essentials like deodorant, protein shakes, and pet-care products. CNBC found similar hikes at Walmart on baby gear and home goods. These increases are likely just the beginning, as retailers deplete stockpiled inventory and confront steeper import costs.

A Wall Street Journal analysis found that prices on Amazon for an array of low-cost essentials like deodorant, pet care items, and cleaning supplies were 5.2% higher in July than they were in January.

In pet food, Tractor Supply announced in January that it was expanding the assortment of its premium 4health Shreds brand, after a popular product that grew 15 times the market average household penetration in three years. In 2024, Kroger also expanded its premium pet food offering, launching six new products. Department stores are looking to private label brands to help revive their fortunes.

General Mills offloaded its North American yogurt business to focus on higher-growth categories like snacks and pet food. Why is this happening? The Trump administration鈥檚 trade policies鈥攊ncluding steep tariffs鈥攈ave eaten into CPG companies鈥� margins.

Franchise Group is the latest retailer to file for bankruptcy: The parent company of banners that include Pet Supplies Plus and The Vitamin Shoppe plans to shutter its American Freight brand.

Up next are the Amazon Book Sale (April 23鈥�28) and Amazon Pet Day (May 13鈥�14). While not yet announced, Amazon is likely to reprise other events like the Summer Beauty Haul and Memorial Day sales, continuing its cadence of targeted promotions to drive demand between major tentpoles.

Ancillary services, such as item repairs, pet grooming, and tailoring, are becoming an increasingly important part of retailers' strategies to drive foot traffic, build brand loyalty, and create additional revenue streams. But the benefit of these services often extends beyond direct financial returns.

Shoppers are least likely to trade down in the baby, pet care, and beauty categories: On the surface that鈥檚 good news for Chewy and P&G, but consumers are cutting back in other ways.

On today's episode, in our "Retail Me This, Retail Me That" segment, we discuss how pet care is moving online, the best pet services retailers are offering, and how recession-proof the category is. Then, for "Pop-Up Rankings," we rank the top four loyalty drivers from pet retailers that other businesses can emulate. Join our analyst Sara Lebow as she hosts vice president of content Suzy Davidkhanian and director of Briefings Jeremy Goldman.

Inflation for pet food and services was over 10% in April, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. But the category has won a reputation of being somewhat recession-proof, thanks to its necessity for pet owners. 鈥淧eople will be spending more on the pets that they have already, despite the fact that it鈥檚 been a relatively inflation-wary populous,鈥� said our analyst Jeremy Goldman on a recent episode of our 鈥淏ehind the Numbers: Reimagining Retail鈥� podcast.

Walmart is opening a pet services center: The move positions the retailer to grab a share of some of the most lucrative areas of the pet industry: health and other services.

Consumers keep splurging on their pets: That鈥檚 why Amazon is hosting a pet sale and other companies are rolling out niche offerings ranging from stress-relief chews to an airline for dogs.

Inflation has hit pet owners hard: Petco and Chewy recognize that many of their customers are pulling back on discretionary spending, which could hinder growth in fiscal 2023.

Walmart rolls out series of initiatives to attract customers to its stores and boost ecommerce business: The retailer is opening a cashierless Sam鈥檚 Club store, adding pet care centers, and automating more distribution centers.

In a recent Tech Talk webinar, John Pawlowski, vice president of marketing at pet food company Heckova!, shared four steps to build a successful CPG brand and get it on to retail shelves, from identifying the opportunity for growth to finding the right retail partners.

On today's podcast episode, we discuss whether GenAI is just a solution in search of a problem to fix, how the video streaming world has shifted already this year, how significant of an ad battleground the back seat of a cab can be, how fast people need things delivered, what the most popular pets in America are, and more. Tune in to the discussion with our analyst Blake Droesch and vice presidents of content Suzy Davidkhanian and Paul Verna.

Synchrony said the steep decline resulted from selling Pets Best Insurance Services in Q1 2024. Excluding the sale, net revenues were essentially flat, CFO Brian Wenzel said during the earnings call. Diving into card results: Synchrony cardholders鈥� consumer health declined across key metrics. Synchrony鈥檚 purchase volume dropped 4% YoY, versus 2% YoY growth a year ago.

This month alone, Amazon is running its (misnamed) Summer Beauty Event, Pet Day sale, and Gaming Week promotions. It also plans to double the length of Prime Day, which will give consumers more opportunities to find deals as well as generate more ad revenues. It鈥檚 squeezing as much revenue as it can from its ad business.

Horizon Media鈥檚 2024 Subcultures Field Guide studied niche consumer groups that spanned from "Extreme Paw-rents,鈥� or those who spend a lot of time and money taking care of their pets, to 鈥淒ark Tourists鈥� who travel in search of ghost towns and haunted spaces. 85% of U.S. adults gravitate toward hobbies and passions that transcend age, according to Horizon Media. 69% of adults are more influenced to buy a