Veterinary Services in the US, 6th Edition

Report Overview

A perfect storm of macroeconomic precariousness, dog ownership and puppy adoption declines, veterinary services/pet care price inflation, and the growing role of telemedicine help explain a significant drop in vet services usage rates since COVID pandemic highs, as well as from pre-pandemic levels.

Key Themes Covered in this Report:

• Macroeconomic headwinds, including a housing affordability crisis that has clipped dog ownership and puppy adoption rates
• Price inflation within the vet sector itself, which has the increased the role of top-income households
• Shift to corporate or privately owned chains and networks
• “Omnimarket” competitive strategies across former business boundaries, spanning services and products and veterinary and OTC products.
• “Spectrum of Care” clinical approach, with factors in affordability
• Telehealth, which both addresses affordability and caters to the affluent
• Increased focus on cat parents and cats as patients
• Healthcare for senior/overweight pets
• Emerging corporate-owned urgent/emergency care models
• Leveraging non-medical pet services
• Rethinking the client, not just patient, experience

Despite impressive tech-driven innovation on the clinical side, the veterinary business environment is challenging due to macroeconomic headwinds, price inflation for clients, novel types of service providers, staffing shortages, and student loan and work/life balance pressures on veterinarians.

Accelerated by the impacts of COVID-19, a reset of the US pet industry is evident in several megatrends and enduring effects, particularly for the veterinary sector. These ongoing trends include:

• In the competitive strategies of top players, a blending of veterinary/non-medical pet services and pet product retailing.
• An entrenched role for subscription purchasing in routine vet/pet services, as well as in prescription parasiticides as a key profit center, in conjunction with a subscription economy revolution.
• As an extension of subscription purchasing, membership and customer loyalty/rewards programs are moving to center stage in corporate pet healthcare services, following in the footsteps of pet food and other consumables markets. These programs both appeal to and help retain convenience-oriented and value-shopping customers – that is, the vast majority of US consumers and pet parents.
• A simultaneous consolidation of the veterinary sector by corporate aggregators and diversification by business type, with the latter including digitally-based and hybrid brick-and-mortar/digital models.

Opportunities resulting from this transformation include increased focus on cat parents and cat patients, newer Spectrum of Care approaches to clinical treatment, emerging corporate-owned urgent/emergency care models, membership and subscription-based pet wellness plans, and leveraging non-medical services such as grooming and boarding. These entail a progressive reassessment of the client experience on offer, in no small part due to Gen Z and Millennial consumer demands and expectations.

Scope of the report:

This report focuses on the veterinary services sector for dogs and cats in the US, with analysis spanning sector sales and growth, the competitive landscape, usage patterns for veterinary services, customer demographics, and the pet industry retailing context. The report also discusses non-medical pet services (such as grooming and boarding), along with pet parasiticides and veterinary pet food, as components of veterinary sector competition for the pet care dollar. Historical sales span 2020-2025, with projections for 2026-2030.

Veterinary services for pets other than dogs or cats or for livestock/farm animals fall outside the scope of this report.

Veterinary Services in the US, 6^th Edition Report Details

Leading Companies Driving Trends in the Veterinary Services Industry

The US veterinary industry is entering a period of significant transformation as economic pressures, changing pet ownership patterns, new technologies, and evolving consumer expectations reshape the market. Packaged Facts estimates U.S. veterinary companion animal sector revenues reached $40.87 billion in 2025, including $29.41 billion in veterinary services and $11.46 billion in veterinary product sales. Veterinary sector sales are projected to reach $47.19 billion by 2030.

Growth is occurring against a challenging backdrop. Rising veterinary care costs, staffing shortages, macroeconomic pressures, and declining veterinary service usage are increasing pressure on both pet owners and veterinary practices. At the same time, corporate consolidation and “omnimarket” competition are transforming pet healthcare as companies increasingly combine veterinary services, pet products, e-commerce, pharmacies, insurance, and other pet services.

Affordability is a defining issue for the veterinary market. These pressures are helping accelerate adoption of Spectrum of Care approaches that consider both clinical needs and pet owners’ financial circumstances. Veterinary telehealth is also expanding access and convenience.

Several additional opportunities are reshaping the veterinary services landscape. Cat healthcare is gaining importance as cat-owning households increase relative to dog-owning households, while senior and overweight pets create growing demand for ongoing healthcare. Younger Gen Z and Millennial pet owners are also helping drive urgent and emergency veterinary care, digital services, preventive care, and new customer experiences.

Membership programs, veterinary subscription plans, and pet wellness plans are becoming increasingly important competitive tools. Alongside grooming, boarding, daycare, and other non-medical pet services, these models are helping veterinary businesses build recurring revenue, deepen customer relationships, and rethink the veterinary client experience for a changing pet care market.