As China’s middle class blooms, the average age of pet owners now squarely overlaps with the country’s tech-savvy youth demographic. A survey on pet owner demographics shows that 74% of urban pet owners are now less than 35 years old.
At the same time, the size of the pet care market has jumped from 30 billion RMB ($4.49 billion USD) in 2013 to 50 billion RMB in 2015, according to data from local research institute.
So it’s not at all surprising that China’s passion for pets and tech is coming together in a big way. For those of you with furry friends who don’t want to be left out, here are five of the most popular apps for pets:
Smellme
Smellme is a mobile social platform for pet owners and their pets. Users can share photos, stories, blogs and upload videos of their favorite pets. It allows pet lovers to set up profiles for their pets, find friends, and enter discussions according to location, species and gender. Apart from their social networking, Smellme offers Yelp-like review and rating services for offline pet services. The company has received $6 million USD of Series A funding last April.
Liuliu
Like Smellme, Liuliu is a social network for pets, similar to WeChat for people, but it also tries to solve real-life problems for pet owners. Powered by location-based data, the platform allows users to find other people and their pets nearby for pet breeding, adoption, and temporary care. The company, which is backed by Alibaba, just received tens of millions of RMB in Pre-A financing recently.
Boqii
Founded in 2008, Boqii is one of the earliest companies in this sector. Starting as an online discussion forum for pet lovers, the company is now a leading pet e-commerce company focusing on pet related products, including pet food, accessories, and services. It received a $102 million USD Series C financing led by China Commercial Bank this February.
Yourpet
Again, social networking is the basis of Yourpet. Similar to other communities, members can get tips, share photos, videos and blogs. This site also provides medical tips for members’ pets. At the same time, Yourpet has an extensive offline presence through cooperation with physical store partners. It have set up its first offline flagship store in Guangzhou this year.
Fdog
As a tool, Fdog provides guidance for dog owners about how to raise a dog scientifically. By selecting age, gender and species, the app offers custom dog care solutions so you’ll never forget when to give your pet medicine, food or take them for a walk.