《2026天猫新宠物观察》：214种宠物撑起猫狗之外的全新市场

The *2026 Tmall Emerging Pet Report* provides a comprehensive overview of the non-cat and non-dog pet market, as well as practical guidance for preparing to care for these animals.

1. Core market context: There are currently 214 non-cat/dog species kept as pets on Taobao and Tmall, spanning 90 aquatic species, 40 reptile and singing insect species, 28 rodent species, 37 bird species, and 19 other species. Far from a niche hobby, the ornamental fish industry surpassed RMB 10 billion in output value in 2022, while the small pet market crossed the same threshold in 2024, forming a mature consumer segment separate from the traditional cat and dog market.

2. Practical care tips: Owning these emerging pets requires a different approach to supply shopping than that used for cats and dogs. Fish owners need to prepare a fish tank, filtration system, lighting, temperature control devices, and aquascaping materials in advance; reptile owners require specialized enclosures, heat lamps, UVB lamps, and temperature control equipment; for parrot owners, the first core purchase is a suitable cage (the bird’s "home") rather than bird food. Each species has vastly different requirements for housing, staple food, and supplies, so prospective owners should make targeted preparations ahead of time to avoid wasting money on generic products.

This emerging pet consumption report outlines the segment landscape and user demand characteristics, providing clear directional guidance for pet brands on segment positioning, product R&D, and channel operations.

1. Core consumption trends: The non-cat/dog pet market has reached independent scale, with 214 species on the platform corresponding to highly fragmented consumer demands. Both the ornamental fish and small pet segments have exceeded RMB 10 billion in output value, and each species has its own dedicated purchase list, with demands that are difficult to meet with standardized products. This makes the segment a reliable growth driver for the pet industry, distinct from the traditional cat and dog track.

2. Segment entry opportunities: Since the start of the year, Tmall has seen an average of one new non-cat/dog pet brand launch per day. The small pet segment remains in a period of rapid reshuffling, with a 90% turnover rate among the top 10 brands over the past year. New brands can target single species, high-demand niche products, or species-specific care scenarios to gain a strong chance of capturing top positions. The aquatic segment, meanwhile, has a more stable leading landscape, with domestic brands already holding scale advantages in core categories such as fish tanks and filtration equipment; brands here can identify entry points by tapping into deep vertical niche demands.

3. User decision-making traits: First-time owners of emerging pets typically allocate their initial budget to habitat setup equipment rather than staple food, making this core decision point a key priority for product development and marketing outreach.

This report’s findings on non-cat/dog pet market development point out growth directions, entry opportunities, and operational pitfalls for online pet sellers.

1. Reliable growth potential: The non-cat/dog pet category has spawned two independent RMB 10 billion segments, with 214 species on the platform corresponding to massive niche consumer demand. An average of one new brand has entered the category on Tmall per day since the start of the year, making it a new growth area free from the red-hot competition of the cat and dog track.

2. Differentiated operation opportunities: The small pet segment is currently in a rapid reshuffling phase, with a 90% turnover rate among the platform’s top 10 small pet brands over the past year. Even with early movers holding market share, sellers can still break into the top ranks by focusing on single species, one category of high-demand staple products, or specific care scenarios. The aquatic segment has a more stable leading landscape, with domestic brands holding scale advantages in core equipment categories; here, sellers can carve out space by offering niche complementary products.

3. Practical operational tips: Selling emerging pet supplies cannot replicate the stocking and operational logic used for cat and dog products. Different species have vastly different requirements for enclosures, habitat equipment, and staple food, and consumers typically purchase habitat setup equipment first. Sellers should stock products around these pre-purchase needs and build scenario-based product links to align with users’ actual decision-making paths.

This Tmall emerging pet report’s insights into niche demands and segment structure provide pet supply chain factories with clear direction for product development and e-commerce-oriented layout.

1. Clear product design and production priorities: The non-cat/dog emerging pet market has reached RMB 10 billion in scale, covering 214 species with highly divergent, hard-to-standardize demands—simply downsizing cat and dog products will not meet these needs. Fish owners require species-appropriate tanks, filtration systems, lighting, temperature control devices, and aquascaping products; reptile keepers need specialized enclosures, heat lamps, UVB lamps, and temperature control equipment; bird owners’ core first purchase is a suitable cage, and all of these dedicated habitat supplies are confirmed high-demand staples.

2. Business partnership opportunities: The small pet segment remains in rapid reshuffling, with a 90% turnover rate among the platform’s top 10 brands over the past year. A flood of new brands is creating strong demand for flexible supply chains and species-specific niche products, creating openings for factories to partner with new brands to develop targeted products. In the aquatic segment, domestic brands have secured leading positions and built scale advantages in core equipment categories, so factories can leverage their production capacity to take on large-scale orders while expanding into complementary niche product markets.

This report’s overview of the emerging pet market’s development stage and operational traits helps pet industry service providers identify service directions and accurately address client pain points.

1. Overall industry trends: Non-cat/dog emerging pets have become a core growth driver in the pet ecosystem. The platform currently covers 214 non-cat/dog pet species, the ornamental fish and small pet segments have each grown into independent RMB 10 billion markets, an average of one new brand has joined Tmall to enter the track per day since the start of the year, and market segmentation continues to deepen.

2. Core client pain points across segments: The small pet track is in a rapid reshuffling phase, with a 90% turnover rate among the top 10 brands over the past year. New entrants to the segment commonly face pain points including insufficient user insights, weak ability to operate niche scenarios, and unclear paths to building hit products. Demand in the segment is also highly fragmented, with vast differences in consumption needs across species, making it difficult for brands to break through with standardized solutions. The aquatic segment has a more stable leading brand structure, with domestic brands holding advantages in core categories; existing brands here have demand for refined operations, category expansion, and user lifetime value optimization.

3. Service optimization directions: Service providers can offer small pet segment clients user research for specific species, scenario-based marketing, and hit product development services, while providing aquatic segment clients with digital user operations and supply chain optimization services to meet the real needs of clients at different development stages.

This emerging pet observation released by Tmall showcases the existing achievements of the emerging pet segment while providing directional guidance for the platform’s future merchant recruitment, operation management, and service optimization.

1. Existing layout foundation: The platform currently covers 214 non-cat/dog pet species across major categories including aquatic pets, reptiles and singing insects, rodents, and birds. It has successfully cultivated two independent RMB 10 billion consumer segments—ornamental fish and small pets—and an average of one new non-cat/dog pet brand has launched on the platform per day since the start of the year, making emerging pets a key growth driver for the platform’s pet ecosystem.

2. Merchant recruitment and segment operation directions: The small pet segment remains in a rapid reshuffling phase, with a 90% turnover rate among the top 10 brands over the past year. The platform can target recruitment of specialty merchants focused on single species, niche care scenarios, and species-specific high-demand products, providing cold-start support for new merchants to diversify segment supply. In the aquatic segment, leading domestic brands have reached relative stability; the platform can focus on supporting domestic brands in core categories to expand their scale, while recruiting merchants in specialty niche categories to fill supply gaps.

3. User operation directions: Emerging pet consumption demands are highly segmented, with large differences in supporting supplies across species. The platform can refine category navigation and build scenario-based shopping guide sections to help users quickly find full-funnel products for their specific pet, improving conversion efficiency.

This emerging pet observation report released by Tmall provides the latest market trends, segment characteristics, and business model evolution references for pet industry research.

1. New industry development trends: Domestic pet consumption is moving beyond its traditional cat- and dog-dominated structure. There are currently 214 non-cat/dog species kept as household pets on Taobao and Tmall, covering aquatic pets, reptiles and singing insects, rodents, and birds. Among these, the ornamental fish industry surpassed RMB 10 billion in output value in 2022, while the small pet market crossed the same threshold in 2024. Two new RMB 10 billion segments independent of the cat and dog market have taken shape, becoming a core growth driver for the pet industry.

2. New segment evolution traits: The demand logic of the emerging pet market differs significantly from that of the traditional cat and dog market. Species diversity creates highly fragmented, hard-to-standardize demand; the entry of each new pet species into households spawns an entirely new dedicated shopping list, and users typically spend their first budget on habitat setup equipment rather than staple food. In terms of competitive landscape, the small pet segment remains in a period of rapid reshuffling, with a 90% turnover rate among the top 10 brands over the past year. The aquatic segment, by contrast, has entered a stage of stable leadership, with domestic brands building scale advantages in core categories, placing different niche segments at entirely different development stages.

3. Business model implications: Growth in the pet industry is no longer limited to selling standardized products to more pet owners. Full-funnel product and service layouts built around new species will continue to spawn more niche business opportunities.