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US Petflation Cools to 2.2 Percent While Canadian Pet Prices Jump 2.8 Percent in a Single Month

September price data show American pet prices easing across food, supplies and services, with veterinary care the lone riser, while Canada posted the sharpest monthly increase in the latest GlobalPETS snapshot.

By Good Company Editorial Desk

US Petflation Industry Trends thumbnail

The News

Pet prices in the United States cooled in September, while prices in Canada moved sharply in the opposite direction, according to the latest inflation snapshot published by GlobalPETS on October 30, 2026. The snapshot tracks September Consumer Price Index (CPI) data across the markets GlobalPETS covers, and it found that prices for pets, pet food and supplies were stable or falling in the US, the European Union and the UK, with Canada the clear exception.

In the US, prices for pet food and treats were unchanged month over month in September. Prices for pets, supplies and accessories fell 0.8 percent, and pet services prices fell 1.2 percent. Veterinary services were the only US pet category to rise, up 0.3 percent on the month, GlobalPETS reported, citing data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

Canada told a different story. Canadian prices for pet food and supplies rose 2.8 percent in September, the strongest monthly increase among the markets covered, and a reversal from a 0.5 percent decline in August. That jump came even as Canadian grocery inflation was slowing: Statistics Canada reported that prices for food purchased from stores rose just 1.7 percent year over year in September, the smallest yearly increase since May 2024.

The US cooling also shows up in the year over year data. PetfoodIndustry reported that US pet price inflation, known as petflation, fell to 2.2 percent year over year in September, down from 3.2 percent in August, according to John Gibbons, president of Pet Business Professor, who tracks BLS data for the pet industry. Overall US pet prices fell 0.4 percent in September from August, when they had reached a record high, Gibbons said.

Why It Matters

The two biggest pet markets in North America are now sending opposite price signals in the same month, and that divergence matters for any brand that prices, promotes or plans across the border.

In the US, the relief is real but narrow. Pet prices are easing from record levels, not returning to old ones. Gibbons noted that overall pet prices hit a record high in August before September's 0.4 percent decline, and that pet food prices reached a record high in July 2026. Pet food prices have risen 24.9 percent since 2019, according to Gibbons, and the 2021 to 2026 surge accounted for 96.4 percent of that increase. September's flat month for pet food and treats gives shoppers a pause, not a rollback.

The cooling is also happening against a hotter national backdrop. Overall US inflation accelerated in September, with the CPI up 0.6 percent on the month and 3.7 percent year over year, driven significantly by energy prices, the BLS reported. Pet prices cooling while headline inflation accelerates suggests the September pet numbers reflect category dynamics, including promotional activity and shoppers trading down, rather than a general drop in costs.

Canada shows how quickly pass-through can arrive. GlobalPETS reported that Canadian grocery inflation slowed for a second straight month even as pet food and supplies jumped, and noted that Canadian grocery retailer Metro said earlier this year that it was negotiating with suppliers to delay passing cost increases and fuel surcharges on to consumers. Delayed pass-through is still pass-through. The September pet spike is consistent with increases that were held back earlier in the year landing on the shelf at once.

One line did not cool on either side of the story: services for animals keep getting more expensive. Veterinary services rose 0.3 percent in the US in September, the only increase among US pet segments, and GlobalPETS reported slight monthly increases for veterinary and other pet services in the EU and the UK as well. Gibbons said veterinary services have had the highest average annual inflation rate of the categories he tracks since 2019, at 6.5 percent, while pet supplies had the lowest, at 1.8 percent.

The Numbers

  • US petflation: 2.2 percent year over year in September 2026, down from 3.2 percent in August, and 37 percent below the 2024 to 2025 rate (Pet Business Professor data via PetfoodIndustry)
  • US overall pet prices: down 0.4 percent month over month in September, after reaching a record high in August (Pet Business Professor via PetfoodIndustry)
  • US pet food: down 0.02 percent month over month, up 1.5 percent year over year, down from 1.6 percent the previous month (Pet Business Professor via PetfoodIndustry)
  • US pet food and treats: unchanged month over month in September (GlobalPETS, citing BLS)
  • US pets, supplies and accessories: down 0.8 percent month over month (GlobalPETS, citing BLS)
  • US pet services: down 1.2 percent month over month; pet services CPI fell to 3.1 percent year over year from 4.8 percent (GlobalPETS; Pet Business Professor via PetfoodIndustry)
  • US veterinary services: up 0.3 percent month over month, the only US pet segment to rise (GlobalPETS, citing BLS)
  • US pet products CPI: 1.3 percent year over year, down from 1.9 percent (Pet Business Professor via PetfoodIndustry)
  • US headline CPI: up 0.6 percent month over month and 3.7 percent year over year in September; fuel oil up 74.2 percent year over year (BLS via GlobalPETS)
  • Canada pet food and supplies: up 2.8 percent month over month in September, after a 0.5 percent decline in August, the strongest monthly increase in the snapshot (GlobalPETS)
  • Canada headline CPI: up 0.1 percent month over month and 3.1 percent year over year in September (Statistics Canada via GlobalPETS)
  • Canada food purchased from stores: up 1.7 percent year over year, down from 2.8 percent in August, the smallest yearly increase since May 2024; grocery prices are up a cumulative 33 percent since September 2020 (Statistics Canada via GlobalPETS)
  • EU and UK pet products: unchanged month over month in September (0 percent); veterinary and other pet services up 0.2 percent in the EU and 0.3 percent in the UK (GlobalPETS)

"Even minor price changes can affect consumer pet spending, especially in the discretionary pet segments, so we will continue with monthly reports to track petflation as it evolves," Gibbons said.

On what drove the US improvement, Gibbons said: "Services is the driver, but both contributed."

What It Means For You

If you sell pet products in the US, treat September as breathing room, not a signal to cut list prices. The monthly numbers cooled from record highs, which means the price on the shelf is still the highest shoppers have ever paid. The smarter use of the pause is promotional: fund the value packs, loyalty offers and trade-down bridges that keep shoppers in your brand while their overall bills, led by energy, are still rising at 3.7 percent.

If you run services, grooming, boarding or daycare, watch your frequency numbers closely. Pet services posted the sharpest monthly decline in the US, down 1.2 percent, and the fastest cooling year over year rate. That pattern is consistent with operators discounting to protect visits. Before you match a competitor's promotion, check whether your problem is price or visit frequency, because the data suggest customers are responding to deals right now.

If you operate a veterinary practice, you are the exception in this report, on both sides of the border. Veterinary prices were the only US pet category to rise in September, and they have outrun every other pet category since 2019. Expect clients to keep asking what care costs before they commit. Practices that quote clearly, stage treatment plans and talk about cost early are better placed than those that let the invoice be the first price conversation.

If you sell in Canada, prepare your customers and your retail partners for a bumpier shelf. A 2.8 percent monthly jump after a decline the month before is the kind of move shoppers notice, especially with grocery prices up 33 percent since 2020. Get ahead of it with clear explanations at the shelf and online, protect your entry price points, and push suppliers on timing the way Metro has, because delayed increases that land all at once are harder for everyone to absorb.

If you run a cross-border brand, September is a reminder to stop pricing North America as one market. The US and Canada moved in opposite directions in the same month, for different reasons. Price architecture, promotion calendars and pack sizes now need to be set country by country, not copied across the border.

What To Watch

The October CPI releases in November will show whether the US cooling is a trend or a one-month pause after record highs. Gibbons cautioned that recovery is slow: "Inflation is complex and recovery is slow," he said. The path of petflation through 2026 supports the caution: it rose to 4.3 percent in March, eased through the summer, then ticked back up to 3.2 percent in August before September's drop.

In Canada, the question is whether the 2.8 percent September jump in pet food and supplies reverses, repeats, or spreads into services. One month is not a trend, but a second increase of similar size would confirm that delayed supplier pass-through is working its way through the Canadian shelf.

Finally, watch the gap between pet prices and headline inflation. GlobalPETS noted that Reuters has reported large consumer goods and food companies, including Coca-Cola and Nestlé, warning of further price hikes next year to cover rising costs even as shoppers remain reluctant to spend. If those increases reach pet food manufacturing and retail contracts, the US cooling in this report could prove temporary heading into 2027 holiday and January reset pricing.

Sources

  • GlobalPETS, "Inflation snapshot: Pet product inflation cools in most major economies," October 30, 2026: https://globalpetindustry.com/news/inflation-snapshot-pet-product-inflation-cools-in-most-major-economies/
  • PetfoodIndustry, "Petflation lowers to 2.2%; pet food prices ease in September," October 19, 2026: https://www.petfoodindustry.com/pet-food-market/news/15837840/petflation-lowers-to-22-pet-food-prices-ease-in-september
  • US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index, September 2026: https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/cpi.pdf
  • Wealth Professional, "Canada CPI revealed" (Statistics Canada September 2026 CPI), October 19, 2026: https://www.wealthprofessional.ca/news/industry-news/canada-cpi-revealed/393806