When it comes to counting the winners of the Covid-19 economy, some competitors have more bark than bite. Those who specialize in home gym equipment or furniture with a back porch have harsh comparisons years ago.
Last week, another company that saw the business boom during the pandemic reported adding millions of new customers in the past 12 months – most of whom are expected to stay.
Petco, the pet supply retailer, benefited from an increase in pets during the long months of home ordering, when more than three million new pets were purchased or adopted.
“They made him richer at home and gave someone a hug,” Ron Coughlin, Petco’s chief executive, told me.
But the trends driving the business toward Petco tell us more than how Americans handled last year’s emotions. They reveal details about how months of living and working at home have created new business opportunities in unlikely places, even at brick retailers, whose best days were once thought to be behind them. Pet ownership in the US has become its own economic barometer, similar to how rolling stock sales certainly predict how economically secure the country is. The puppy’s boom is more than adorable. He is telling in what he says about how we want to work and live in a post-pandemic world.