Pet products that cater to owners’ need for convenience will assume an expanding role in the growth of the overall pet supply market, projected to surpass $11 billion by 2009, according to a new report from market research publisher Packaged Facts (New York), the publishing division of MarketResearch.com.

The most important purchasing factor in both mass and pet specialty channels, convenience influenced 85 percent of mass-market shoppers in 2006, versus 83 percent in 2005. 

New pet convenience product lines grew by nearly 20 percent between 2005 and 2006, and the number of pet convenience product lines specifically positioned as “upscale” jumped from seven in 2002 to 41 in 2006.

More than 30 “human-only” companies have entered the pet products market, breeding significant opportunities to capitalize on the growing bond between owners and pets. Pet shoppers now have the luxury to include everything from quick-cleansing pet wipes and pet strollers to portable feeding systems and calming supplements to their growing pet arsenals.

“More and more products for pets are being made to resemble those for humans,” said Don Montuori, publisher of Packaged Facts. “This trend reflects both practical considerations and the strategy of marketers to strike an emotional chord among pet owners, who are thinking in human terms as they shop and applying their own preferences to the pet products they select.”