Synchrony Financial is betting on the billion dollar pet-financing market through CareCredit.
Synchrony executives anticipate Americans becoming even more obsessed with their dogs and cats— a trend they call the "humanization of pets — and are looking to the booming animal care market for its next leg of growth.a record $72.5 billion on their animals, according to the American Pet Products Association. They spent $18.1 billion on vet bills alone. More than half of Americans now own a pet of some sort, according to Synchrony.
Synchrony, which has a $21 billion market capitalization, added another avenue to pet owners' bank accounts last year through its acquisition of pet insurance company Pets Best in March. The Boise, Idaho-based company offers pet insurance for dogs and cats in every state.The segment of insurance is "quite literally on fire right now," said Chris Middleton, senior vice president and general manager of Pets Best at CareCredit.
Dr. Meg Thompson, Cornell veterinary hospital medical director, said most vets offer care credit or some sort of financing options — especially since the cost of care for animals is going up. She pointed to routine magnetic resonance imaging machines as an example, which cost $1 million and growing popularity of expensive procedures like chemotherapy.
Synchrony has been on a stock buyback spree, and according to Credit Suisse, has bought back the equivalent of 12% of its shares over the past year.
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