Shanghai has seen a thriving pet economy featuring a growing number of pet-friendly spaces, pet-specific stores and services in its commercial districts.
In Xuhui District, most of the stores along an 11.4-kilometer-long strip in the Riverside Public Open Space have become pet-friendly ones, allowing people to have a walk, go shopping and have a meal together with their pets outdoors and indoors. Besides, special recreational areas have been built for pets.
"I'm here to have coffee and eat some food. I can do this together with my dog. I think the service here is very good. Dogs are welcome in the stores. So, I feel free to bring it here," said Li Shao'en, a consumer.
"The outdoor place of each store has set up a rest area for people and their pets. There are also some areas for people to temporarily laying pets aside, and some facilities that provide drinking water for pets. Our customer service desk will provide free items such as urine pads, pet poop bags and leashes to facilitate pet owners in doing pet-friendly behaviors," said a manager of a commercial circle.
In Hongkou District, two huge posters, each painted with a cool pet dog and a cute pet cat, have wow many visitors as cultural innovation products at a pet-friendly bloc.
Since March this year, nearly 40 businesses providing catering, entertainment, and retail services and selling pet-themed products have opened in the bloc, with pet art exhibitions, pet markets and pet sports events held irregularly.
As pet consumption is trending toward refined and customized services, this year Shanghai has witnessed the opening of its first pet-specific fresh food supermarket -- PetFresh.
"I'm here to buy pet buns for my dog. They are made and sold on the spot, which is very distinctive. I've never known pet food could be so cute," said Hou, a consumer.
From late March to early April, PetFresh had opened 10 outlets in the core areas of Shanghai.
"We work with leading domestic pet brands and traditional food factories to create new production lines to enrich our goods. Besides our offline stores, we offer online service through our mini-program or some food delivery platforms. We can achieve immediate delivery to the areas no more than 10 km away," said Liu Jiayuan, manager of PetFresh's outlet site selection.
Statistics showed that the number of pet dogs across China reached 52.58 million, and domestic pet consumption exceeded 300 billion yuan for the first time in 2024, demonstrating a great development prospect for the pet economy.
Thriving pet economy brings more pet-friendly spaces, pet-specific services in Shanghai
