CHICAGO — SPINS, a data, analytics and technology provider for the wellness industry, announced March 26 it has become the official data provider for the Independent & Neighborhood Pet Retail Association (IndiePet).

IndiePet is an independent pet retail association launched in late 2020 to connect approximately 8,000 stores across North America. Its strategic partnership with SPINS comes at a time when the pet retail environment is evolving in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, changing consumer purchasing behaviors and an increasingly digitalized marketplace.

According to SPINS, which has been watching the pet industry over the past 20 years, pet owners in the United States have gradually increased their pet spending year-over-year, representing 450% growth in spending over the last two decades.

"We are excited to partner with the IndiePet Association because we are both missions aligned behind increasing the presence and accessibility of natural and better-for-you products that help pets (and their human families) live their healthiest and best lives across North America," said Dawn Valandingham, head of retail for SPINS. "For years, neighborhood pet retailers have been the critical link between cutting-edge pet products and pet parents and our partnership provides neighborhood pet stores a new variety of data applications to build on their independent spirit and deliver on their community commitments."

SPINS launched a comprehensive neighborhood pet channel in late 2020, providing dynamic data, actionable insights, product attribution data and digital solutions to help independent pet industry retailers understand this evolving industry and scale their businesses accordingly.

Through this channel, SPINS is able to offer stand-out product trends to compete with big-box stores and e-commerce retailers, identify consumer preferences for certain product attributions, and benchmarking tools for retail performance.

"Partnering with SPINS and unlocking access to their data and trends will be a gamechanger for our members and the independent and neighborhood pet retailers across the country," said Al Puntillo, president of the IndiePet Association. "The influx of new pet owners in 2020 has only increased the urgent need for our members to have timely access to the tools that will allow them to drive their businesses forward while keeping their shelves stocked with the innovative, high quality products that our customers have come to expect from us. IndiePet's partnership with SPINS will give our members consistent, accurate information that will make us all better at what we do."

This now $100 billion industry is only expected to grow, with pet food and treat sales leading all other subcategories of the industry with $42 billion in sales in 2020, up 9.7% from 2019.

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