Indrajeet Dixit

The COVID-19 pandemic reshaped consumer behavior across numerous industries, with the pet sector witnessing unprecedented growth as approximately 23 million U.S. households adopted a new pet during pandemic times. Not only did it mean a period of rapid growth for the industry but also a flurry of investments from private equity funds to capitalize on the growth trend.

2021 was an immensely challenging year for retail pharmacy chains — as pharmacy chains were tasked with the rollout and administration of COVID-19 vaccines. As vaccine-seekers rushed to stores foot traffic and subsequent discretionary purchases increased. There was a 7% increase in discretionary transactions as revenues for major pharmacy chains increased by 6% to $328 billion in 2021.