Pet Care Needs - A User Research Case Study
Product Discovery and Research
Background
India's companion pet ecosystem is in an exciting stage. Pet adoption is growing rapidly due to increased urbanisation, nuclear households, rising disposable income and shrinking average families. The pandemic has further boosted the trend. Modern urban structures influence people to adopt pets. There is also a shift from seeing pets as possessions to family members, offering emotional support and companionship during these trying times.
These trends are visible in the growing number of pets in India.
These trends are visible in the growing number of pets in India.
India has ~32 Million pets in 2022 up from ~22 Million in 2019, growing at >13% CAGR.
Of the 32 Million pets, 28-29 Million are dogs and the remaining are cats. Though at a smaller scale, cat adoption is growing at a faster rate vs Dogs.
While NCR, Mumbai and Bangalore lead in terms of pet care spends, other markets like Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune, Ahmedabad and Kolkata are 50-60% of the size of top markets. Equally interesting are trends for emerging cities like Lucknow, Surat, Chandigarh, Kochi and others which are 20% of the size of top markets. (1)
India's Pet Care Market size is estimated at INR 7,400 Crore in 2021 and is expected to reach INR 21,000 Crore by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 19.2% during the forecast period of 2022 to 2032. (2)
The pet care industry majorly comprises 2 big categories: Pet food and Pet health care, contributing to more than 85% of the overall spends, and the remaining 15% is contributed by niche categories like - Grooming, Accessories, Behavior training and others.
Contemporary pet owners are constantly searching for reputable and branded offers in the areas of food, health, nutrition, and care because they want the greatest services and products for their animals. More than 80% of commercial pet food comes from a variety of international companies.
In general, pets need substantial care for their health, especially in the first 12 to 18 months of their lives (due to several vaccine requirements and the possibility of contracting diseases) and for animals older than 8 years. Pet parents are recognised to experience the most stress and worry when it comes to medical issues. Although pet healthcare is crucial, there are obvious disparities when compared to human healthcare. For example - India's pet healthcare system is entirely unorganised, consisting of stand-alone veterinary clinics with outdated clinical and medicinal equipment.
Problem Statement & Objective
In response to the growing demand for pets, the pet healthcare industry has enormous growth potential in the years ahead. Given that urban pet parents seek out standardised, trustworthy and convenient pet healthcare facilities and services at their disposal, multiutility setups offering these under one roof will be the main elements boosting the market growth.
The Indian Pet Care Market is therefore anticipated to experience strong growth in the next few years.
Your objective is to understand the pet parents better and understand their pain points, needs and motivations in the context of pet care. If you have to solve for their needs, how will you go about building a tech-enabled solution that can create access to pet care services in an organised manner in Tier 1 metros?
Expected Output
What we are expecting from you and your team is to get some real user research done. Specifically, identify the needs and pain points of existing pet parents for the needs of their pets.
The tangible output needs to include:
Research Findings
Research Artifacts - Create JTBDs, User Personas and an Opportunity Solution Tree based on research findings.
Please note - The OST can cover the major opportunities identified vis a vis the pain points and needs of pet owners and proposed solutions. The ‘Experiments’ bit is not required.
Once you’ve collated and analyzed your findings, recommend a tech-enabled solution for the problem statement. We’re just looking for one great idea that can solve the most pressing opportunity identified. Prioritization is key.
