Pet Insurance Becomes King of the Pet Services Hill

Along with pet insurance’s vastly increased visibility to consumers over the past decade, the high cost of veterinary services – exacerbated of late by the record high rates of inflation – has been a key factor to the pet insurance boom, with a 16% compound annual growth rate in industry premiums over the 2019-2023 period.

This high rate of growth for pet insurance points to a significant runway for future growth, given that the penetration rates for pet insurance in the US – at around 5% of dogs and under 2% of cats – remain low by European standards.

Trends & Developments to Watch in the Pet Services Market

Leverage the insights and extensive data in Pet Services in the US, 2nd Edition to capitalize on opportunities across “hands-on” pet services categories as well as newer, virtual, and at-home/end-of-pet-life care offerings:

• Online/App Technology. Illustrating the profound and still growing importance of technology in pet care services is the market disruption generated by Rover and Wag!, whose home-based pet boarding, sitting, and walking businesses are entirely internet-dependent. Taking a page from tech-based pet sitting/walking service aggregators Rover and Wag!, most of the larger grooming service providers have turned to app-based bookings, while apps have also become central to the new age in pet insurance services and are gaining ground as key “DIY” training tools.

• Franchising. Over 2,500 franchised pet stores and pet service providers are open or in development in the US, such that pet market competitors routinely number among the leading franchises as tracked by sources including Entrepreneur Magazine’s Franchise 500 list and Franchise Times’ Top 400 Franchise Chains.

• Old Dogs, New Tricks. Pet service providers are putting new spins on established services. Zoom Room, for example, offers an indoor dog training gym model that centers on human education and positive training methods. Rather than dropping their pets off for training or standing by and watching, pet parents are required to participate in the sessions.

• The Case for Cats. Historically speaking, pet product manufacturers, retailers, marketers, and service providers have been overtly canine-centric, and nowhere is this more apparent than in the market for pet services. Dog owners account for the largest share of dollar sales across pet service categories, with both usage rates and spending levels far higher than for cats. Now, however, population trends and affordability challenges are translating into incremental but steady decreases in the number of dog-owning households. With altered pet population patterns have come shifting paradigms, and the dog/cat balance has begun to shift; retailers, marketers, product developers, and service providers are paying noticeably more attention to the cat category. In non-medical pet services, the prime example is pet insurance.

• Subscription/Membership Programs. Petco is focusing on its Vital Care program, which has attracted more than 24 million “Core” members and over half a million for-pay “Premier” members. Across pet service categories, similarly, providers are increasingly relying on subscription and membership programs – as is the case with Bubbly Paws, Bowie Barker Bath + Groomerie, Dogdrop, and GoDog. An ever-greater share of pet services business will be coming from such programs.

For more information, read the comprehensive new report Pet Services in the US, 2nd Edition, which covers grooming, boarding and daycare, training, pet sitting/walking, and niche areas such as end-of-life services and waste retrieval.