Pet inflation stayed firm in February, with more pressure ahead: full analysis

Pet inflation held firm in February 2026, but the bigger story for veterinary teams may be that March already showed a sharper acceleration. GlobalPETS said February inflation rose across major pet markets, with veterinary and pet services posting faster gains and further increases expected. In the US, that expectation appears to be materializing: Bureau of Labor Statistics data released April 10 showed “pets, pet products and services” up 4.3% year over year in March, above the broader CPI rate of 3.3%. (petfoodindustry.com)

The backdrop is a pet economy that never fully returned to pre-pandemic pricing behavior. Petfood Industry, citing BLS data analyzed by Pet Business Professor’s John Gibbons, reported that all major pet price segments hit record highs in March for the first time since September 2022. That matters because February looked more like persistence, while March looked more like reacceleration. In other words, the February snapshot now reads less like a plateau and more like a staging point for another leg up. That’s an inference based on the February reporting and the subsequent March federal data. (petfoodindustry.com)

The March US breakdown helps explain where pressure is building. BLS data show pet services including veterinary rose 5.6% year over year, with veterinarian services also up 5.6%. Pet services alone were up 7.8%. On the product side, pets and pet products rose 3.1%, pet food and treats climbed 2.3%, and purchases of pets, pet supplies, and accessories increased 3.5%. Month over month, the aggregate pets, pet products, and services category rose 0.7% on a seasonally adjusted basis. (bls.gov)

GlobalPETS tied the February outlook to broader macro risks, including Middle East tensions and supply chain disruption. That thesis is supported by wider market reporting. S&P Global said the conflict has raised risks for fuel, freight, and fertilizer costs, all of which can feed into food and goods inflation, while Oliver Wyman said the disruption is already affecting energy, transportation, and commodity flows in ways that could create a broader inflation shock. The World Bank’s April 2026 Commodity Markets Outlook also forecast average energy prices to rise 24% in 2026, warning that prolonged disruption could intensify inflation pressures. (spglobal.com)

Industry reaction suggests veterinary medicine is running into the limits of what pet parents will absorb. Vetsource reported that average veterinary service price increases reached 6.57% from 2024 to 2025, but revenue rose just 5.4%, indicating softer utilization. Visits were down 3.1% per practice in 2025, including declines in wellness, surgery, and product-only visits. Sheri Gilmartin said the increase in the cost of care is the biggest driver of declining visits, and that higher prices can suppress demand when clients don’t see enough value in return. (provet.com)

Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, persistent inflation is no longer just a purchasing problem. It’s becoming a care-access and compliance problem. If clinics continue facing higher wage, inventory, diagnostics, pharmacy, and facility costs, many will need to keep adjusting fees. But the Vetsource data suggest some practices are already seeing the tradeoff: higher prices without equivalent revenue growth, because visit volume softens. That can hit preventive care first, delay diagnostics, and make treatment acceptance harder, especially for middle-income pet parents. (provet.com)

There’s also a strategic implication for communication. Pet Business Professor noted that veterinary inflation has cooled from earlier peaks relative to some other pet categories, but it remains elevated, and consumer sensitivity is still high. For hospitals, that means pricing decisions may need to be paired more tightly with value framing, estimate transparency, wellness plan design, and financing options, rather than relying on fee increases alone. (petfoodindustry.com)

What to watch: The next key marker is the April 2026 CPI release on May 12, 2026. If pet and veterinary services inflation stays elevated, practices may be dealing with another stretch of cost pressure through the second quarter, especially if energy and shipping disruptions continue feeding through to supplies and consumer budgets. (bls.gov)