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The way households relate to pets changed permanently during and after COVID, and the industry has not stopped adjusting since. This piece covers what specifically shifted in the human-pet bond, where the market now stands, and what the new standards for design, engineering, and brand thinking actually look like. |
Before 2020, a pet was something most households left at home and came back to. Then the offices closed during the pandemic. Your dog, who used to wait by the door, spent the next eighteen months in your home office, on the afternoon walk, at the café table, and on every weekend plan that could include her. By the time offices reopened, that level of inclusion had become the expectation.
That distinction is small in language and large in consequence. It rewired what pet parents expected from every product category centered on daily life with animals, and those expectations have not receded. FikaGO is one brand whose design philosophy will come into sharper focus once the full picture of that shift has been laid out.
How Our Daily Walks Redefined an Industry
An estimated 23 million US households acquired a new pet during the pandemic period, many of them first-time owners in urban apartments. The more consequential change, though, was relational. Extended time at home deepened the human-pet bond within existing households, as animals became consistent emotional presences during a long and disruptive period.
The behavioral consequences followed. When offices reopened, pets who had spent eighteen months in near-constant human company began showing signs of anxiety that were hard to ignore. Veterinarians and trainers reported a marked rise in separation anxiety cases across urban practices. The observation surfaced something that had been quietly building: the relationship between owner and pet had shifted from companionship to participation.
“Pet mental health” entered everyday ownership vocabulary as a result. Pets were included in more decisions, more routines, and more purchasing conversations, and the industry began responding to a pet parent who expected considerably more from it.
A Market Shaped by a Changed Bond
As pet parents adjusted their routines to accommodate these new emotional realities, their spending habits followed suit. Those purchasing conversations translated directly into category growth. For pet parents navigating flights and extended travel with animals, the question of which airline-compliant pet carrier reliably meets in-cabin size limits while keeping a small breed comfortable has become one of the more researched purchase decisions in the category. That single detail says something bigger: travel with a pet is no longer an exception to plan around, it is a default that products need to support.
The broader numbers tell the same story from a different angle. The US pet industry reached $158 billion in 2025, a 3.7% year-over-year increase, with $165 billion projected for 2026. Food and treats still account for 43.2% of total spend, which makes sense given that feeding a pet well has always been table stakes. What is more telling is where the newer growth is concentrated: services grew 5.7% in 2024, and supplies grew 4.4% in 2025. Owners are not just maintaining their pets; they are actively building a life around them, and the spending pattern is simply catching up to that reality.
Investing in What Truly Matters
For urban pet parents managing longer outings and multi-dog households, a foldable pet wagon that stores flat in an apartment, deploys without tools, and carries a larger breed comfortably has become part of the standard gear conversation. The same logic applies to a portable kennel that provides a dog with a stable, familiar space during hotel stays and in unfamiliar environments. These are practical engineering questions, and the market is treating them as such.
Research on how pet ownership affects owner wellbeing has made those priorities easier to see in plain terms: a pet's daily environment shapes how the whole household feels, not just how the pet behaves. Approximately 80% of pet owners now consider their pets vital family members, according to BCG research, and that is not a sentimental statistic. It shows up directly in how people shop. Quality is the primary purchase consideration for 71% of US pet owners, outranking price, according to a January 2024 Packaged Facts survey, which means most owners would rather pay more once than replace something twice. And 51% say they will pay more for ethically and sustainably produced products. Put together, these numbers describe pet parents who are shifting their budgets toward genuinely shared experiences with their animals, rather than spending only on basic upkeep. These owners are buying for their pets the way they buy for everything else that matters to them.
Built for the Life Pets Actually Live
For those buyers, a longer city outing is a reliable test. A Saturday route through New York takes you across subway grates, through a construction detour, and along stretches of cobblestone where your dog slows to a stop. Each of those moments is testing the gear.
Among pet parents looking at dog strollers, those conditions narrow the field quickly: the frame and suspension have to handle that terrain reliably, the cabin has to be sized for the actual animal, the fold has to work in a crowded elevator, and the design has to feel as considered as the outing itself.
FikaGO builds around exactly that picture. The engineering draws on baby-stroller heritage, which means the frame holds through years of hard city use rather than softening after a season. The materials are GRS-certified, and the Nordic design philosophy keeps the product restrained and visually coherent, something that looks at home left out in the apartment rather than tucked away between outings.
Best of all, the system is modular, so one carrier handles the flight, the city walk, and even the weekend bike rides.
The Belief That Keeps Us Moving Forward
Post-COVID, the pet industry grew and changed shape simultaneously. Pets became family members in a more literal sense than the phrase implied, outdoor mobility became a category expectation rather than a niche, and the standards applied to product design, engineering, and material choices shifted accordingly.
This is the same belief FikaGO was built on. We exist because we care, genuinely, about bringing a higher standard of outdoor experience to pets and the people who love them, not as a slogan, but as the actual design brief behind every stroller, wagon, and carrier we build. That aspiration is also what keeps us listening. Every piece of feedback we hear from the people using our products, the small frustrations as much as the praise, shapes what we build next.
If you are ready to explore, FikaGO's range of pet strollers, carriers, and wagons is built around the demands of real city life and sized for pets of all kinds.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Impact of COVID on the Pet Industry
How did COVID change pet ownership in the US?
The pandemic created both a surge in new pet acquisitions and, more importantly, a relational shift. Extended time at home integrated pets into daily routines so deeply that the bond did not revert when offices reopened.
Why is the pet industry still growing after the pandemic?
The behavioral and attitudinal changes from 2020 and 2021 persisted when life normalized. Approximately 80% of US pet owners now consider their pets vital family members, and purchasing decisions have consistently reflected that framing.
What is driving demand for travel pet strollers and carriers?
Increased expectations for outdoor mobility, more travel with pets, senior pet care needs, and demands of urban terrain. Airline-compliant pet carriers and travel pet strollers are among the fastest-growing product subcategories as pets become more integrated into daily life.
What do modern pet parents look for when buying pet products?
Quality is the primary consideration, outranking price and value. Modern pet parents also weigh engineering credibility and sustainability, favoring products that reflect how their animals actually live rather than a generic template.