‘Pet owners to defy cost-of-living crisis this Christmas’

Brits may be planning to cut back on Christmas spending on friends and relatives this year, but they won’t be cutting the spend on their pets, stated a recent survey.  

According to the recently-released survey results by Jollyes The Pet People, almost 70 per cent of pet owners will put a present under the tree for their furry friend this Christmas while 60 per cent are planning to make their pet a special festive feed.   

Only one in ten (11 per cent) of people in the survey of 1,000 people across the UK planned to spend more on their friends and families this Christmas and almost half (43 per cent) to spend less.

The nationwide statistics mask important regional variations.   

When it comes to a meal with all the trimmings, it’s anything but grim up north with over two-thirds of owners in the North West (69 per cent) planning to make a special Christmas dinner for their pets, just ahead of the West Midlands (67 per cent) and London (68 per cent).   

And while fewer planned the same in the East Midlands, Scotland and the South East, more than half of owners in each of these regions were still planning a special ‘dog’s dinner’ this Christmas. 

Meanwhile, dogs will be looking their best on Christmas morning as over a third of owners are planning to treat their pooches to a grooming session. In the North East 63 per cent of dog owners plan to groom their pets for Dec 25 while more than half in the North West say they will do the same. 

But according to Jollyes which has over 80 stores across the UK, pet spend is being prioritised – with three-quarters of the population (75 per cent) planning to spend the same or more on their pets this Christmas. 

And almost as many men (65 per cent) plan to buy a present for their pet as women (71 per cent). 

Jollyes head of marketing, Phil Turner-Naylor said, “The survey confirms what everyone at Jollyes already knows – pets come first. It wouldn’t be Christmas in the UK without the pets we love. 

“Our survey shows pet owners are bending over backwards to make sure their pets are pampered this Christmas.”