Pet supply shops

How we worked it out

Average monthly saving

£525

£6,304 a year

In year five, every month

£1,080

Over five years

£31,519

Price creep over time

Every supplier's prices rise with the market. Price creep is the extra on top: overcharging, smaller packs and rises nobody questions. Supplee shows you the cheapest price across your suppliers, so you pay what the market charges and not the creep. Branded pet food is identical whoever supplies it, so any price difference between wholesalers is pure saving.

Without Supplee: market price plus creep (3.5% a year in all) With Supplee: you pay the market price (2% a year)

How much more than the market price you pay each month. The shaded area is what avoidable creep costs. Hover or tap the graph to see any month.

The numbers we used

Input	Symbol	Value	Source
Annual turnover of a typical independent	$T$	£250,000	UK pet shop turnover tiers (small shops £60k–£200k, mid-size £200k–£750k)
Share of turnover spent with suppliers	$p$	62% (60% stock, 2% other supplies such as bags and cleaning)	Typical pet retail margins (stock costs 50–67% of sales)
Market price inflation	$i$	2.0% a year	Our estimate from UK pet product inflation in 2026 (GlobalPETS)
Avoidable price creep	$c$	1.5% a year	Our estimate: overcharging, pack shrink and unchallenged rises
Typical time with one supplier	$N$	60 months (5 years)	RestaurantOwner purchasing survey of 550+ independent operators (hospitality; assumed the same for pet shops)

The working

1Monthly supplier spend

S = \frac{T \times p}{12}

S = \frac{£250 , 000 \times 0.62}{12} = £12, 916.67 a month

2Monthly price growth

The yearly rates are converted to monthly rates: market prices only, and market prices plus creep.

m_{m} = (1 + i)^{1/12} - 1 m_{t} = (1 + i + c)^{1/12} - 1

m_{m} = (1.02)^{1/12} - 1 = 0.1652% a month

m_{t} = (1.035)^{1/12} - 1 = 0.2871% a month

3Extra cost in any month k

Market inflation affects every supplier, so it isn't counted as a saving. Only the gap between the two price paths is.

C_{k} = S [(1 + m_{t})^{k} - (1 + m_{m})^{k}]

4Total and average over the supplier cycle

Add up every month from 1 to 60, then divide by 60.

Average monthly saving = \frac{1}{60} k = 1 \sum 60 C_{k} \approx £525

5Worked example: the cost in month 60

C_{60} = £12, 916.67 \times [(1.035)^{5} - (1.02)^{5}]

= £12, 916.67 \times (1.18769 - 1.10408) = £12, 916.67 \times 0.08361 \approx £1, 080

Results

Point in time	Extra cost that month	Total lost so far
Month 1	£15.75	£15.75
End of year 1	£194	£1,249
End of year 2	£398	£4,892
End of year 3	£614	£11,059
End of year 4	£841	£19,888
End of year 5	£1,080	£31,519
Average monthly saving: £31,519 ÷ 60		£525.32, about £525 a month (£6,304 a year)

Low, central and high cases

The same sums for a smaller and a larger shop, with less and more creep.

	Low	Central	High
Annual turnover	£150k	£250k	£400k
Share spent with suppliers	52%	62%	70%
Avoidable creep	0.5%	1.5%	3%
Monthly supplier spend	£6,500	£12,917	£23,333
Average monthly saving over 5 years	£87	£525	£1,932
Total over 5 years	£5,225	£31,519	£115,898

These are modelled estimates for a typical UK independent pet supply shop. Your savings depend on your spend and suppliers.