A Recession-Proof Consumer Category?

Selfie X2

This weekend was very busy around the house. (Don't worry, we'll get to the marketing and advertising soon.) I had my poker game on Friday night, and my eldest was holding a Halloween event the next day. My wife wound up working on both weekend days, and my youngest had an illness. Into that mix, enter a dog, seen above.

Minion, our 18-month-old collie mix, needs a lot of exercise, then peace and quiet, to be at his best. If there a lot of people around, it tends to activate his herding instincts and makes him antsy, but he's great around other dogs, because it lets him engage in brief and intense exercise. He's the kind of pooch that wants to play for about 10 minutes every 90, which doesn't always make him the best of choice for a busy family, but it works out well enough.

He's also a great companion, and borderline spoiled in that way that dogs after kids get spoiled, because a family member that doesn't need a college fund or driver's license, and doesn't engage in the usual teen drama, just has appeal for miles.

So instead of having him around when he wasn't going to get enough attention and just have issues, we chose to board him for a couple of days. We put him up at a local dog kennel and exercise facility that we've used before. He had a good time (the business has web cams), and when I picked him up this morning, he was in perfect health and happiness.

Now, to the marketing and advertising.

True wages for most American households have been stagnant or worse for decades now, but what hasn't been stagnant is the amount that we spend on our pets. Instead of just selling on price, pet food makers have continually upped the seeming quality and marketing, going for more organic materials and specialized products. In the past five years, there's also been an explosion of pet bakeries to go with the food, and now, dog spa treatment.

There are cheaper kennels (many, honestly) than the one we use. I won't get into the specifics on what was spent here, but I have no doubt that the facility is a profitable business, even on the customers that don't spring for the full services. Stuff like spa days for dogs are, of course, not a necessity, or something the dog requests. Instead, it's a matter of making the owner feel good, and doing something special for a companion. The market segment just keeps rising, with seemingly no end in sight, especially with more affluent households going for pet ownership.

I am, personally, a dog guy. I have had them for nearly my entire adult life, from purebreds to strays, and never the same breed twice. I've also lived with all kinds of other pets (gerbils, rabbits, cats, lizards, birds, fish). I like taking care of them, think that the benefits outweigh the costs, and get many of my ideas for business and creative while taking Min on his daily walk.

But throwing undue money at them is silly, in ways that seem prone for backlash at some point. My guess is that there will be some kind of pushback as comedians and social commenters call specific points of insanity out at some point, but there hasn't been up to now, and there's no reason why there should be a sudden change of priorities. Frankly, we love our pets a lot more than we do our fellow citizens.

Maybe smartphones, which seem to have the same level of affection for many of their owners, will start to gate the purchasing. But those same devices are used so often to share pictures of our companions, and maybe even publicize the services via social media.

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