Americans love their pets. Over the past few decades, we’ve started to treat our four-legged companions just like any other member of the family. Whether taking along our pets on vacations, take them out to eat with us, or thinking about the nutritional content of their food, we want our furry friends to be as happy and fulfilled as possible.
In line with these trends, the pet grooming industry now valued at $7 billion in annual revenue and has nearly doubled in the past 10 years. This is mainly due to the rising demand for pet grooming, training, walking, and boarding as the number of services that have popped up over in recent years.
An estimated 65% of the U.S. population reportedly owns pet of some type. In today’s report, we evaluate data from this industry and predict whether or not the next 10 years will experience rapid growth similar to what we saw in the last decade.
Pet Industry Numbers
Dogs are the most popular pet in the United States.
In terms of animal type, the market is segmented into cats, dogs, and others. Out of these, the dogs segment held as much as 57.35% of the Pet Food Industry share in 2019.
There are over 103,996 businesses currently operating as dog groomers in the U.S with an average growth rate of 8%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
The U.S. pet industry has a market size of $7 billion. (IBISWorld) Back in 2018, Americans spent over $72 billion dollars on pets.
That number was projected to top $75 million by 2019 according to the American Pet Products Association. (The Balance Careers)
Most pet owners typically spend an average of $127 on grooming and grooming aids. (SBDCNet)
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Pet ownership in the United States has increased from 67% to 70%, which is an all-time high.
35% of pet owners stated they spent more on their pets in the previous year than the year before.
Overall, the total U.S. pet care industry is expected to rise 5.8% before the start of 2022, reaching US$109.6 billion.
The Millennials are currently the most numerous pet owners at 31%, Baby Boomers are sitting at 29%, Gen X follows at 26%, and finally, Gen Z round out the rest (about 14%).
The average time for a full groom takes about 2 to 3 hours, while larger or very thick-coated breeds typically take longer. (Hollywood Houndz)
There are 63.4 million U.S. households who are dog owners. (American Pet Products Association)
The dog grooming industry employs some 189,384 individuals.
There are 124,389 businesses in the U.S. pet grooming industry. (IBISWorld)
Regular grooming should be done about once a month, though this would depend on the breed, hair length, and type of coat. (American Kennel Club)
65% of the U.S. population reports owning a pet. 77.8 million are dogs and 85.8 million are cats.
The pet grooming industry employs roughly 201,882 people. (IBISWorld)
60% of millennials claimed to buy jackets, sweaters, and other clothes for their beloved pets. (Pet Pedia)
The U.S. pet grooming and boarding market marked up its value from its 2009 levels at $4.56 billion to $8.38 billion in 2019. (Statista)
Regular grooming is done professionally every 6-8 weeks to ensure pet comfort and quality of life. (Hollywood Houndz)
For young puppies and dogs who have never been groomed, more frequent grooming or brushing at home should be done to get the dog used to being handled and to avoid grooming issues during adulthood. (American Kennel Club)
Mobile Dog Grooming
The typical dog owner invests over $1,400 on their furry friend each year.
The average price for dog grooming ranges from $40 to $100 nationally, depending on the location.
The average price for dog grooming nationally is between $60-$80, which includes both standard and mobile services. (Thumbtack)
The average price for Nail trimming is at $30 a la carte or $20 when packaged with another service. (Thumbtack)
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A typical pair of scissors for dog grooming measures between 6.5 and 9 inches long, which is longer than your typical hairdressing scissors. (Hollywood Houndz)
In the U.S., a complete grooming (bath, style, ears, nails, not matted) can average $36.25. (SBDCNet)
The actual sales in 2019 of Other Services within the U.S. market was at $10.3 billion (Other Services include boarding, training, insurance, grooming, pet sitting and walking and all services outside of veterinary care) (American Pet Products Association (APPA)
A typical professional grooming session consists of the dog being bathed and dried, brushed, as well as trimmed or clipped. (American Kennel Club)
Other pet services category, which includes grooming, accounted for more than $6 million, or about 8%, of the money spent by pet owners.
The average start-up cost of putting up a commercial grooming shop would be around $50,000 to $60,000. However, this would depend on how fancy you want your shop to be. (SBDCNet)
Global Pet Statistics
Pug with a dog treat.
In 2017, the global grooming market hit $3.87 billion. (Pet Pedia)
There are 9 million dogs in the U.K. (Groom Arts Academy)
In 2019, the dog population in Denmark reached approximately 670 thousand. (Statista)
There are approximately around 9.7 million cats and 11.8 million dogs living with families in Japan and these numbers are growing every year according to Japan Pet Food Association (JPFA). (PR Newswire)
40% of pet industry customers are between the ages of 30 and 49. (Pet Pedia)
UK dog owners spend more than £10 billion a year on their dogs. (Groom Arts Academy)
North America is approximated to be the largest market having a share of more than 50% by 2025, driven majorly by the high adoption rates of companion animals among households. (PR Newswire)
There are 63.4 million dog-owning households in the U.S. (Statista)
The U.K. has 1.4 dogs per household. (Groom Arts Academy)
The shampoo and conditioner segment got the highest revenue with 52% market share in 2018 and is estimated to grow with a CAGR of 5.9% from 2020 through 2025. (PR Newswire)
In a recent APPA National Pet Owners survey, some of the basic annual pet expenses are as follows: (American Pet Products Association)
- Routine Vet Appointments: $212
- Monthly Food cost: $259
- Monthly Grooming expenses: $73
Pet Food Statistics
A puppy galloping through the isles of a pet shop.
The US pet food market worth more than $24 billion is expected to reach $30 billion by the year 2022.
In 2020, total pet food sales worldwide reached over $102 billion. This is an increase of almost ten billion dollars since 2019. In the United States, this increase reached a whopping 10% from 2019 to 2020.
In 2019, the top two players, PetSmart and PETCO Animal Supplies, accounted for over 48% of total market revenue. (Common Thread Collective)
Blue Buffalo continued to gain important market share in dog food last year, maintaining its status as one of the top players in this category over the review period. (Euromonitor International)
The global pet food industry is anticipated to reach revenues of S128.4 billion by 2022 with a CAGR of 4.5%. With more than 900 million dogs in the world, the dog treat industry leads the pet food industry.
The pet food segment dominated the U.S. pet product industry in 2020 with 36%, followed by vet care with 27%. (Common Thread Collective)
There is an increasing focus on sustainability in dog food. This can come in the form of sustainable packaging or sustainable ingredients. (Euromonitor International)
Among those buying pet products, roughly 17% reported buying pet products online in 2017, an increase of approximately 13% in the previous year. (Common Thread Collective)
Pet superstores continue to excel in dog food distribution in 2020, this is mainly due to the wide range and personal services being offered in these stores. Yet, this sales channel decreased its share to internet retailing, which continues to post great numbers, overtaking hypermarkets to become the 2nd biggest distribution channel for dog food in the US in 2019. (Euromonitor International)
Pet Grooming Trends and Predictions
A refreshing dog bath.
We expect demand for pet care services to steadily increase over the next half decade. Services may include basic pet grooming includes hair cuts, washes, and nail filing. This will also include dog sitting / boarding and walking services. Keep in mind these services can be provided at an on-site shop or operated from a mobile truck or dog grooming trailer so you don’t need an expensive retail space to get started.
The average lifetime cost of rearing a pet dog is $23,410 from adopting all the way to the end of life. The high cost of owning a pet has made the pet insurance segment become attractive option for insurance companies. This is to allow pet owners the option of reducing the number out-of-pocket expenses for a pet.
There are currently more than 300 million pets in America. This increased number of pets also comes with an increase in demand for products and services.
Trends on Pet Treats
Prime quality, functional ingredients, and sustainability are all the trends in the pet food industry. The latter is particularly important to Millennials and Gen Z pet owners as they want their purchase to benefit the Earth, not harm it. These consumers also care a lot about the ingredients going into their pets bodies including whether or not the products are organic.
The one trend though which is important and still in play is the willingness of pet owners to spend more on pet food that’s high-quality treats for their pet’s health and enjoyment. As an example, premium-quality dry kibbles which are refrigerated and prepared meals have become increasingly popular and offer a more nutrient rich alternative to basic kibbles.
While this industry may not double again by 2030, we believe the growth trajectory remains strong for this industry based on the data. If you do a good job as an operator providing a safe and high-quality service or product for pet owners, you’ll be well positioned for the next decade.
With more people deciding to stay at home for health and safety reasons, we believe the pet grooming industry will continue experiencing rapid growth for the next two years, but might flatten out from there. Only time will tell.
