Pet Wearables: The Next Billion Dollar Market

As wearable technology gains more and more attention, it is quite interesting to note that wearable are not just for humans anymore. And as people get more and more health conscious and tech-savvy at the same time, wearing fitness bands that would help them monitor their health easier and keep track of vitals integrating data onto their smart devices such as phones and tablets, pet owners are doing the same to their cats and dogs. And according to the American Pet Products Association, over 50 billion was spent in 2012 for these fun and cute little creatures. It does not really come as a surprise if pet wearables become the next billion dollar market since most of these domesticated animals have been of every American household.

Wearable Technologyfor Animals 2015-2025: Technologies, Markets and Forecast , a report from IDTechEx, an independent market research market firm, shows details on technology and markets of animal wearables and electronic gadgets for livestock, wild and domestic animals. According to the report, both RFID and non-RFID technologies incorporated in these wearable gadgets for pets will reach 2.6 billion in 2025 globally.

The report was able to identify and analyze six market sectors for animal wearables which includes, Identification and Tracking, Facilitation, Safety and Security, Behavior Monitoring, Behavior Control, Medical Diagnosis and Medical Treatment. Identification and Tracking, as well as Facilitation, Safety and Security are markets that have been considered more mature markets as wearables such as GPS tracking stickers and tags have been made available for quite sometime, and feeding equipment that generates data on frequency and volume of food eaten by pets can be tracked and analyzed have also been made available.

Nonetheless, the report shows that the next big thing in wearable technology for pets and livestock would be those for medical diagnosis. This market is expected to increase shares from 11% to 23%. And in the same manner, the market for wearables used to administer medical treatment would also increase from 1% to 13%. This includes devices and innovations in animal medical care such as heating, cooling, ultrasound and drug delivery. Currently, the report says that we are in a 22 billion market of human-controlled animals but this may soon change its course to tracing and treating endangered species as well.

The analysis covered a in-depth comparison and study of 141 profiled product details, from equipments and systems that are worn outside the body, RFID and non-RFID devices, to those that are ingested and implanted under the skin. IDTechEx reported that there are 300 manufacturers of these devices and the highest number is in China which makes products at the lowest price. The report predicted that this will rise to 500 as the market increases 2.5 times or more in the next coming decade.

However, IDTechEx Chairman, Dr. Peter Harrop, who also wrote the report, further indicated that there may be some warnings and lessons that manufactures, consumers and the public should know about the animal wearable technology market including legal matters involved in requiring tags for various livestock primarily for disease prevention and control as well as those seeking to ban inhumane devices such as dog collars that administer electric shocks.