Economy Crimps US Market for Pet Services
While the “pets as family”/pet health mindset remains in full swing, the economic conditions confronting US pet owners present a challenging market backdrop. The post-pandemic era has seen Americans grappling with persistent inflation, and the elevated costs of pet products and services – on top of human essentials – have exacerbated the strain on pet owners, resulting in spending cutbacks, deferral of adoption, and pet relinquishment.
At the bedrock level, economy anxiety and pet care affordability concerns are reflected in dog population trends, given that dog owners are the primary customer base for pet grooming, boarding, daycare, training, and insurance. Packaged Facts estimates that the percentage of US households owning dogs slipped from 41% in 2019 to 38% in 2024. Year over year as of spring 2025, there were 5% fewer dog-owning households than there were 2019 (50.7 million vs. 53.3 million).
In keeping with this decline in dog population, MRI-Simmons data show the overall number of households using non-medical pet services at 25.0 million in 2025, down from 26.7 million in 2021 and from 25.5 million in 2019.
Overall Dog/Cat Customer Base for Non-Medical Pet Services,
2019 – 2025
(thousand households)
| 2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
2025 |
| 25,459 |
25,512 |
26,729 |
25,189 |
24,555 |
25,382 |
24,976 |
Note: Non-medical pet services include grooming, boarding, daycare, training, and insurance.
Source: Packaged Facts, Pet Services in the US; Spring 2019-2025 MRI-Simmons National Consumer Studies.
Base: Household. Copyright: 2025. All rights reserved.
Anticipated Changes in Pet Services Spending
In Packaged Facts’ May/June 2025 Survey of Pet Owners, 31% of customers anticipate increased spending on non-medical pet services in 2025 vs. 2024. Especially for modest- to middle-income pet owners, economic conditions are likely to continue generating headwinds for the pet services market. Therefore, any form of pet service that combines quality care with price reflexibility is timely, along with short-term “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) installment loans directly through the businesses and brands that consumers use, to help manage monthly budgets and spending. Packaged Facts August/September 2025 survey data show 31% of consumers have used BNPL services in the last 12 months, rising from 13% of Boomers and 28% of Gen Xers to 48% of Millennials and 52% of Gen Zers.
Given the macroeconomic environment, dog or cat owners with a household income of $150,000+ are the top customer growth demographic across the “hands-on” pet care services of grooming, boarding, daycare, and training – adding, for example, nearly one million customers to the client base for pet grooming between 2019 and 2015.
Want to learn more? Check out the Packaged Facts Pet Knowledge Center, your resource for in-depth pet market intelligence.
About the blogger: The former publisher and research director at Packaged Facts, a division of the Freedonia Group, David Sprinkle continues as market analyst as part of the Packaged Facts pet market team. His research focuses on pet population trends, pet owner demographics, pet industry retail/e-tail trends, and veterinary services. Sprinkle also provides monthly columns to Pet Care Weekly and to Petfood Industry, along with contributions to trade publications including PETS International and The Fountain Report. He has presented extensively at pet & vet market conferences, including Global Pet Expo, GlobalPETS Forum, Petfood Forum, VMX, the NAVC Veterinary Innovation & eCommerce Summit, and the Kansas City Animal Health Corridor Market Insight Seminar.
