All Issue

2026 Vol.2, Issue 3

Research Article

The pet-related mobile application ecosystem in south korea: market structure and future perspectives
Kangmin Park1
,
Hyeyoung Jeong1
,
Joohyeong Lee1*
1Applied Animal Science Laboratory, Department of Companion Animal Industry, Semyung University, Jecheon 27136, Republic of Korea
*Corresponding Author
30 September 2026. pp. 133-141
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Abstract

With the rising proportion of pet-owning households in South Korea and the spread of pet humanization and pet tech, the pet-related market has grown rapidly; however, quantitative research on the mobile application market remains scarce. This study analyzed the current status of pet-related mobile applications in South Korea using publicly available metadata from Android and iOS as of March 2025. The top 15 Android apps by monthly active users, the top 10 most popular apps on each platform, and 13 device-integrated health management apps were examined in terms of category, user count, ratings, and release year, and the relationship between user count and ratings was tested using Spearman’s rank correlation analysis (α = 0.05). The results showed a concentrated, oligopoly-like structure in which the top three apps accounted for 52.2% of the users of the top 15 apps analyzed, with shopping representing the largest share. No significant correlation was found between user count and ratings (ρ = –0.13, p = 0.651), indicating that market share does not guarantee user satisfaction. Category distributions differed across platforms, with the health category holding a relatively higher share on iOS. The release-year distribution was analyzed separately using a sample of apps collected directly from the Google Play Store in July 2026. Based on this sample, new app releases declined after peaking in 2020–2021, coinciding with the popularization of generative AI. Device-integrated health management apps were classified into behavioral and emotional analysis, biosignal and diagnostic monitoring, and feeding and environmental management functions. These findings suggest that future app competitiveness may be determined by shopping integration and device-based personalized health management services rather than information provision, and that data privacy will become increasingly important.

Keywords
Companion animal
Digital pet healthcare
Mobile application
Oligopolistic structure
Pet tech
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Information
  • Publisher :Journal of Humanimal Sciences
  • Publisher(Ko) :한경국립대학교 휴머니멀응용과학연구소
  • Journal Title :Journal of Humanimal Sciences
  • Journal Title(Ko) :휴머니멀과학학술지
  • Volume : 2
  • No :3
  • Pages :133-141
  • Received Date : 2026-07-17
  • Revised Date : 2026-08-03
  • Accepted Date : 2026-08-06
  • DOI :https://doi.org/10.23341/jhas.2026.2.3.133
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