With major shopping events such as Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Boxing Day on the horizon, consumers are likely thinking about scoring the greatest deals on electronics or home appliances. Perhaps they are thinking about starting some of their holiday shopping for their friends and family.

But what about their friends of a furrier variety?

The pet retail market might not always come to mind when thinking about the latest retail figures, but the Tampa Bay Times points out that over the past decade, pets have become "humanized" as some millennials delay starting a family and opt into pet ownership instead. As a result, the toys and gadgets one typically buys for a child are ultimately swapped for the latest pet toys and accessories.

The Times goes on to report that this year alone in the United States, a projected $60.5 billion will be spent on our pets!

For comparison sake, U.S. digital ad spending will also reach $60 billion this year, as will Amazon Prime revenues. In fact, China plans to spend the same amount to build seven artificial islands.

Let's backtrack a bit to see how these numbers add up. This past Halloween, the National Retail Federation estimated that Americans spent $350 million on pet costumes. As pet owners dress up, why not get a cute costume for their four-legged friends? While pets might not always enjoy the experience of being dressed up, their owners have certainly been eager to include them in family traditions, and showcase them on social media.

These figures seem to be growing on a global scale. In Canada, sales of pet costumes have doubled in the past four years, and Statistics Canada shows that while the pet retail sector was once a billion-dollar industry in 2003, it has now doubled and continues to grow.

As Black Friday approaches, economists and retail experts have shared several predictions for this year's expenditures.

The Huffington Post released a few early Black Friday predictions, suggesting Thanksgiving Thursday will see greater revenues this year courtesy of online shoppers either finding better deals or looking to skip the experience of camping out at big-box retailers to grab one of a limited number of items. The same goes for Black Friday, with online revenues expected to rise 23 per cent from last year.

Canadians, still experiencing the thrills and newness of Black Friday (compared to their American counterparts), are expected to be more "enthusiastic" consumers this year, promising growth for retailers. With a new government in power, tax relief on the horizon and lower gas prices, Canadian consumers are feeling a lot more relaxed in exercising their purchasing power.

So where are pet owners focusing their efforts this year? It seems that high-tech pet gadgets are taking the stage. From robot vacuums to nuzzle collars to devices monitoring pets' activity and emotional levels, owners have a lot more options than the basic chew toy.

Black Friday only marks the tip of the holiday retail iceberg for both pet retailers and consumers. What we have seen in recent weeks has been great speculation based on last year's numbers, and how they are likely to grow or change.

We don't know what the future will bring, but it's likely that pet retailers, pet owners and pets themselves will all benefit from growth in the pet retail industry this year. And probably in the years to come, as well.