Pet Care Industry Analysis 2020 - Cost & Trends

The Pet Care Industry continues to grow every year simply because more and more households are beginning to open up their homes to more buddies. There are over 300 million pets in America, and with the increased number of pets, this also comes with an increase in demand for products and services.



Back in 2018, Americans spent over $72 billion on their pets. As people become increasingly drawn to the lifestyle of pampering their pets, this opens up so many more opportunities for investment.

How does the Pet Care Industry look now?

According to the 2019-2020 National Pet Owners Survey conducted by the American Pet Products Association (APPA), 67% of U.S. households own a pet. To put it into perspective - that’s a whopping 85 million families! Furthermore, we’re seeing an increase in the number of pet owners opening up their houses to pets, seeing an influx of reports on animal shelters across the nation emptying out.

If we’re being honest, we know that pet owners do enjoy donning cute outfits and buying nice accessories for their pets. This is a luxury that not everyone likes to indulge in - as reflected by 60% of total spending coming from high-income households.

The Pet Care Industry comprises businesses of all sizes, including large corporations such as Petsmart, Petco and Pet Supplies Plus, franchises and smaller businesses, and even freelance pet care professionals offering dog walking and pet sitting services.

Opportunities within the Industry

The opportunities within the pet industry continue to change over time as people change their behavior and the way they see the role of pets in their households. As we see behavioral trends change over time, new opportunities have also continued to open up within the industry.

Pet Grooming & Boarding

Just within this subsection of the large industry, the pet grooming space has grown at an annualized rate of 4.3% to $9.2 billion over the five years. Basic pet grooming is very much still an essential part of caring for your buddies, and will continue to increase in demand as people continue to adopt more pets.

Pet Food

In 2018, the United States was the major revenue generated country in the world in terms of pet food with US$28,662 million in 2018 - the average per capita consumption of pet food stands at 18lb. This is one of the main reasons why pet supplies stores continue to grow rapidly - as they are able to bring many of these necessities to the convenience of pet owners.

Pet Care and Pet Sitting

Despite the increase in pet ownership, it doesn’t change the fact that many of us are still full time working adults and cannot spend every second around our pets. In the past couple of years, the market for more freelance pet sitting and walking services have grown too!

Pet Insurance

The average lifetime cost of raising a dog is $23,410 from adopting all the way to the end. Because of this high cost of owning a pet, the pet insurance space became more and more popular in recent years in order to allow pets to age more gracefully without worry of incurring additional costs.

Pets getting the Royal Treatment

A trend that has increased over the last few years is giving pets the options to have more affluent and comfortable lifestyles! We’re starting to see an increase in more specialized pet treatment services - ranging from pet spas for your pets to really get pampered, to pet day camps where your pets can interact with other animals in order to increase their social skills. Salty Dawg Pet Salon comes to mind, who believes pets should be styled by professionals too!

Risks in the Pet Industry

Just like any other industry, competition still continues to remain fierce - as demand continues to increase, naturally entrepreneurs will flock towards exploring the pet industry. One way to beat the competition is to invest in a business that differentiates itself from other competitors! Nonetheless, the prospect for the pet industry still remains strong. Here are some of our favorite pet industry franchises you can consider!Check out some of these franchises below!



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