93% of pet owners held or raised pet spending, Elanco survey finds

Elanco said 93% of the pet owners in its latest U.S. consumer survey kept or raised their pet spending over the past three months, and 32% raised it. Just 7% of surveyed consumers would cut pet health spending under financial pressure, compared with 54% who would cut dining out and entertainment.

Elanco Animal Health (NYSE: ELAN), based in Indianapolis, ran the Pet Health Trends Omnibus online from October 16th to 21st, 2026. The sample was 2,018 U.S. adults, nationally representative, and included 1,495 dog and cat owners aged 18 to 80.

Bobby Modi, Elanco's executive vice president of U.S. Pet Health and Digital Transformation, said the results show "pet health is not a discretionary luxury, but a deeply emotional, non-negotiable commitment."

Owners cut dining out and travel before pet health

Travel came in at 44% on the cut list and digital subscriptions at 33%. Owners named keeping pets healthy and living longer (65%), seeing them happy and comfortable (59%) and treating them as family (54%) as their main reasons for spending. Elanco said 87% of owners rate their pet's wellbeing as important as their own, and 63% rate it more important.

Looking ahead, 93% expect to hold or raise pet spending in the coming year, the same share Elanco reported in February, against 91% in May. Of all consumers surveyed, 21% expect to add a pet in the next year, as do 25% of current owners.

Elanco's late-May survey of 1,409 owners, published in June, found 31% had raised pet health and wellness spending in the prior three months and 88% rated their pet's wellbeing as important as their own. The October survey puts the share raising pet spending at 32% and the wellbeing share at 87%. We covered the earlier wave in our June report on the survey.

Medication buying now runs through six channels

Elanco said 38% of owners have moved some pet medication purchasing outside the clinic in the past year or two. Respondents named in-person veterinary clinics (37%), online pet specialty pharmacies (31%), mass retail and grocery (28%), physical pet specialty retail (27%), general e-commerce (25%) and home delivery through a veterinarian's online pharmacy (17%). Owners could name more than one channel.

A doctor's recommendation was the top reason an owner would switch medications. One-time discounts or rebates drew 3%. Modi said that "vet visits are no longer a leading economic indicator for pet spend."

For clinics, the survey puts a number on the recommendation: it outranks price as a reason to switch. For online pharmacies, the 31% in that channel includes Chewy, which calls its pharmacy "America's #1 Pet Pharmacy", and the survey gives them the same message about discounts.

Elanco sells through the channels it surveyed. Its third-quarter results, published the same day, showed Credelio Quattro in more than 16,500 U.S. clinics, about 55% of the U.S. base, and Befrena open to all clinics including corporate groups. Elanco said Seresto revenue of $49M was affected by a draw-down of U.S. retailer inventory.

Elanco's growth quarter sits beside Zoetis's U.S. decline

Elanco reported Pet Health revenue of $608M, up 14%, with price adding 5% and volume 9%. CEO Jeff Simmons said Zenrelia and Credelio Quattro reached new market share highs in September.

Zoetis reported separately. Its third-quarter earnings exhibit shows U.S. companion animal revenue of $980M, down 8%, which Zoetis attributed to "macro-driven price sensitivity and competitive pressure in dermatology, as well as generic competition." Elanco's survey and Zoetis's filing describe pet owner spending from opposite directions in the same quarter.

Elanco said Befrena moves to a full launch in the first quarter of 2027, and it expects to launch Credelio Quattro in the EU in the same quarter after a positive opinion from the European Medicines Agency.

Three surveys in 2026 have put year-ahead spending intent between 91% and 93%.

Source: Elanco via PR Newswire