Pet Franchise Facts and Trends

Trends and Facts About Pet Franchises

• The pet business is a growth industry, with Americans spending a lot on their favorite animals. APPA National Pet Owners 2011 Survey reports that 62.2 percent of US households own at least one pet, which equates to 72.9 million homes.
• According to the survey, freshwater fish are the most numerous with 151.1 million followed by cats (86.4 million) and dogs (78.2 million), though there are more households with dogs. Birds are fourth followed by small animals, such as gerbils or hamsters, then by reptiles.
• The consumer market for pets, including different services, care and products, exceeds 71 million US households. The pet industry has doubled from a decade ago, and is expected to keep growing.
• The APPMA reports that in 2009, US consumers spent $45.4 billion on pets, which is up from 2008’s spending of $43.2 billion.
• Spending on pets will surpass $60 billion in 2013 making the pet industry one of the fasting growing industries in the nation.
• Pet food is expected to reach $19.5 billion in sales, followed by veterinary care at 14.1 billion. Pet supplies and over-the-counter medication, such as flea treatments, will amount to $10.2 billion.
• People will spend about $2.2 billion to actually buy pets, and then $3.6 billion on grooming and boarding them.
• According to the US Census bureau, the average establishment in the pet industry is a small business, with nine or less employees, providing pet services. Veterinary services had the biggest share of this market. Pet and pet supply stores employed one fifth of the industry’s workers.
• A wide variety of different pet franchises and businesses that have come into existence to cater to pet owners. These range from traditional pet and pet supply retail stores, to specialized boarding facilities, to professional grooming, in home pet sitting and dog walking and even poop disposal
• For those who want to own a pet-related business, there are many options to choose from and a high success rate, especially for franchise businesses, because Americans love their pets and will continue to spend money for all types of services and products to make their animals happy and healthy.