Australian Pet Owner Research 2024. Designed to Assist Owners in Their Veterinary Practice
Running a veterinary practice today is significantly more complex and involved than ever before. Today’s competitive market means higher and expanded client expectations, and meeting these while concurrently managing your business goals effectively can prove incredibly challenging.
Pet ownership in Australia has grown over the last five years, from 61% in 2019 to 69% in 2024.
Representing one of the highest global pet ownership rates. The pressures within the veterinary market (and subsequently on your practice) are unlikely to abate in the foreseeable future.
A veterinary clinic is often an extremely emotionally-charged environment, for both staff and clients. As a veterinarian, understanding what your clients need, want, and anticipate is an important route to delivering the coordinated care and services they expect – enabling your business to thrive. Practically addressing these needs is essential to easing pressures within your clinic and supporting the physical and psychological wellbeing of your staff, clients, and their pets. This requires a targeted approach to the services you offer and their delivery.
Therian’s May 2024 Research Project
In early May 2024, Therian conducted independent research into pet ownership in Australia. Our goal was to deepen our understanding of our nation’s pet owners, their companion animals, and the experiences, expectations, and other factors influencing their choice of veterinary practice.
- Why do clients choose a certain veterinary practice?
- Why do they remain with their chosen practice?
- What factors contribute to them changing their veterinary provider?
Our aim in offering these insights is to provide an encompassing understanding of human clients to better enable veterinarians to improve their practices and grow their businesses.
Knowing who your clients are, what they expect from you, and how to optimise their experience within your practice is imperative for you to be able to provide the service and level of care they deserve, and maintain their satisfaction; while simultaneously increasing cash flow and reducing stress levels within your business.
Demographic Overview
Our research was conducted on May 1st, 2024, and we surveyed two hundred (200) Australian dog and cat owners (canines and felines being by far the most common companion animals in Australia).
This included:
- 136 dog owners
- 114 cat owners
- 50 owners of both dogs and cats
All states were represented, and 73% of the pet owners responding to this survey were female.
Pet Ownership in Australia – Statistics
Australia is a very pet-centric nation when it comes to small companion animals: 59.9% of households covered by our research own at least one dog, while 50.2% have at least one cat; 36% have both a cat and a dog.
In terms of other pet species, 13.7% of homes have birds, 4.8% reptiles, and a smaller number have pets including rabbits, guinea pigs, ferrets, and rodents.
Results
Our survey demonstrated that modern, welcoming veterinary clinics and hospitals that have state-of-the-art design and equipment and innovative service offerings are a drawcard for a statistically significant number of our respondents.
Of particular note, we learned that:
- 60% of pet owners would welcome telehealth options for their pets
- 43% would be interested in wellness plans and/or subscription-based animal care.
This markedly differs from the traditional concept of veterinary care, and it represents a change in direction for how practices must operate to remain competitive in our modern market.
We also noted an overall trend whereby dog owners tend to prioritise veterinary practice location and staff when selecting their provider, whereas cat owners place more importance on the selection and affordability of services offered. This supports the industry trend where veterinary businesses could benefit from implementing tailored subscription models to entice pet owners to their practice – particularly in areas that have several different practices within proximity.
1. How Do Pet Owners Choose Veterinary Practices?
The most important factors for clients when selecting a veterinary practice include:
- Price/affordability (particularly among cat owners)
- Location (convenience/proximity to home)
- Staff (and how pets respond to them)
- Services offered
- Practice environment
The most important factors for clients when selecting a veterinary practice include:
- Emergency care
- An online appointment booking portal
- In-home care options/Telehealth
- Training services (e.g. behaviour modification for dogs, puppy preschool, etc)
Other popular offerings included:
- Boarding services
- Grooming services
- Mobile apps providing additional health resources
- Pet health education sessions
- Walking services
- Commercial pet products for purchase
2. Frequency of / Influences on Vet Visits
Our research found that, overall, dog owners are more committed to regular preventative care pet health visits, and are less price-sensitive than cat owners tend to be in terms of veterinary costs.
- The most common reasons for visiting the vet are annual vaccinations, regular health checkups, veterinary reminders, and arthritis management (more likely for dogs).
- Just 4%of pets are currently on a Wellness Plan (mostly dogs) and very few pets have routine teeth cleaning performed (this is more commonly performed for cats).
- 41% of all pet owners visit their vet just once per year. Dog owners are more committed to regular preventative vet care, with 72% taking their dog to the vet twice yearly.
- 15% of respondents take their pet to the vet only in an emergency or for a specific, irregular illness, injury, or other health concern. This applies to twice as many cats as dogs.
Our research found that veterinary practice owners can increase quarterly visitation rates for pet health and wellness checks by 155% simply by setting up automated email or SMS reminders to be sent to their patients/clients.
Cat owners are more likely than dog owners to be influenced by reminders; this may be because dog owners are generally more naturally proactive about visiting the vet.
3. Veterinary Practice – Factors Influencing Client Loyalty
Once a pet owner chooses a vet, more than 50% will remain loyal to the practice (for at least as long as they reside in its local area). While convenience and proximity play a major role in loyalty, many will stay or leave based on their satisfaction or lack thereof with the services provided and the environment they experience within the practice.
Overall, the majority of respondents were satisfied with the services their current vet practice offers. Owners of dogs are slightly more loyal to their vet than those of cats.
The main reasons why clients remain loyal to their vet include:
- Location
- Staff like the pet and/or the pet likes them
- They offer excellent services at an acceptable price
Those clients who move to another vet usually do so because:
- They have relocated
- They or their pet had a negative experience (including issues with staff and their level of friendliness to the human and/or the animal)
- They required different services that were unavailable in the original practice (e.g., different clinic hours, specialisation needs, or the ability to adequately care for/treat a larger animal)
4. Other Considerations
The in-clinic experience plays a major role in ongoing client (and pet) satisfaction.
For example, taking steps (in terms of the architecture and design of the clinic) to minimise pet anxiety and maximise comfort during vet visits makes an enormous difference to both client satisfaction and staff stress levels within the practice.
This may include:
- Separation of cats and dogs in waiting areas
- Using dedicated dog/cat examination rooms
- Dedicated cat/dog animal housing in the hospital
- Having a walking area for dogs
- Using calming aroma mists or sounds
- Offering treats, toys, calming blankets, scratchable surfaces for cats, etc.
You could also provide anti-anxiety medication for particularly sensitive pets; offer Telehealth appointments or in-home vet visits (house calls); and implement veterinary technology to streamline the experience (for example, digital patient education flyers, direct SMS messages, or email newsletters to better prepare for vet appointments).
This information first appeared on the Therian blog: Australian Pet Owner Research 2024
