M/A/R/C Research completed a third wave for its COVID-19 Animal Health Tracker among 1,003 pet owners between August 17th-19th, 2020. A supplemental survey of 1,008 pet owners was conducted to provide additional context on vet visits, pet adoptions, and telemedicine.
Wave #3 of the study found that the majority of pet owners recognize the importance of vaccinations with 25% of them seeing vaccinations as more important following the covid-19 outbreak.
93% of the respondents said they regularly vaccinate their pets with some 90% of the respondents saying they are Extremely to very important for their pets. Only 2% of the respondents felt vaccinations were not very important for their pet’s health. Wave #3 also reported that 23% said they were spending more on the pet’s health care during the covid-19 outbreak than prior.
For the week ending February 13, 2021, the canine and feline core vaccine indices combined and expanded with the inclusion of the “Lifestyle” vaccines for Lyme, Lepto, and FeLV, ended up at a very robust +13.7% YTD across the 32,000+ practices and shelter locations in the Animalytix Marketplace. Kennel Cough vaccine purchases, which provide a measure of the pet mobility, and surgical suite consumables each improved improved to +8.0% and +7.4% growth YTD respectively. Purchases for medications for chronic conditions were relatively steady at +5.6% growth while products designed to address behavioral issues in pets improved slightly to +1.2%.
Among the “Bellwether” Vetalytix zones selected for routine reporting primarily based on the relative size of annual core and lifestyle vaccines purchases, the Minneapolis, MN zone leads at a very robust +25.5% growth compared to 2020. Followed by Boston, MA at +24.1% ahead of 2020 YTD. Lagging among the “Bellwether” zones is St. Louis, MO with +7.3% growth compared to 2020. Annual core and lifestyle vaccine purchases were selected as the principal “Bellwether” metric given 50% or more of annual visits to a veterinary practice are associated with the administration of these products.
*Map displays YTD Core & Lifestyle Vaccines sales courtesy of Animalytix
This week’s totals for reported parasiticide purchases across all segments year to date through the week ending February 13, are ahead of 2020 results by +4.9% among the 32,000+ practices and shelter locations in the Animalytix Marketplace. The most significant YOY change in the market is the +33.3% growth in the canine combination flea and heartworm products (e.g. specifically Simparica Trio), as substitution is occurring at the expense of products from the canine flea and tick preventatives which are experiencing a decline of (-7.5%) YTD. Canine heartworm preventatives purchases were slightly behind 2020’s record strong sales for the same period, posting growth of (-0.6%). Feline flea and heartworm preventatives are also behind last year at (-1.0%) growth.
Among the leading “Bellwether” parasiticide market zones, Minneapolis, MN leads with +89.3% growth in total parasiticide purchases followed by Birmingham, AL at +28.1%. Among the lagging “Bellwether” zones is Chicago, IL at (-20.3%) versus the same YTD period in 2020.
*Map displays YTD Canine/Feline F/T/HW Parasiticide sales courtesy of Animalytix
For the week ending February 13, 2021, aggregate YTD practice revenues softened slightly versus the previous week, posting net growth of +4.7% for the ~4,000 reporting practices. The growth in unique patients was slightly down at (-0.4%) while clients were up with growth of +1.0% growth. Total number of invoices YTD remained behind 2020 levels, down (-3.1%).
Among the leading “Bellwether” market zones, Brooklyn, NY is leading with a +20.8% YTD revenue growth and +7.5% growth in unique patients YTD. Among the lagging zones, the Miami, FL market is struggling at (-8.6%) revenue growth and (-2.1%) growth in unique patients YTD compared to 2020.
Following more current trends, the 3-week rolling average practice revenue growth nationally contracted from +4.2% to a less robust +1.2% growth in average revenue. Six census divisions had a positive 3-week average revenue growth rate. The New England division leads all divisions for the most recent 3-week period with average revenue growth of +7.8%. The addition of the rolling 3-week average revenue growth index is designed to provide a view of relative robustness of growth trends (e.g., market velocity) for each reporting zone. A positive value indicates rolling revenue growth vs the previously reported 3-week period.
Map displays YTD total hospital revenue courtesy of Animal Care Technologies
*Indicates Merged Zone Group
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