Costco launched a pet medication business last year and rolled it out nationally this month. The new initiative includes a custom, continuing-education program for pharmacists who dispense pet meds as well as a veterinary drug handbook shipped to stores with access to veterinarians who can answer pharmacists’ questions. Meanwhile, U.S. retail sales of pet medications – including sales through retail stores, online retailers and veterinarians – were $6.7 billion in 2011. (Drug Store News, 4/23/12)
While most pet owners continue to buy medications through their veterinarians, and online retailers, including those operated by Target and Walmart, some retail pharmacies are starting to see pet medications as an opportunity. Perhaps they see this opportunity coming from the confluence of some demographic adjustments in the U.S.: Millennials and Gen Y adults are marrying less often than past generations; the birthrate among women of all ages is the lowest in 100 years; and the median net worth of households headed by someone 65 or older is $170,000, 42 percent more than it was in 1984.
Do fewer children among the young and more wealth among empty nesters add up to more pets in Americans’ future and an increased wherewithal to cater to pets’ health needs?
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