Another Hot Market For Your Idea To Start A Home Business: The Pet Market

If you don’t have a pet, you may not be aware of how enormous the Pet Industry is. Even if you are a pet owner, you may not know how much money Americans spend on their pets each year. According to a BusinessWeek cover story from August 2007,

• Two-thirds of US households, 33%- 71 million homes, have a pet.
• This is up from 64 million, 10% just five years ago
• Americans spend $41 Billion a year on their pets – that’s billion- with a “B”
• This has doubled in the last ten years
• Spending is expected to hit $52 billion (a 25% increase) in 2 years.

Some more telling statistics:

• 42% of Dogs share a bed with their owners
• 30% of pet owners buy their pet birthday gifts
• 31 million dogs & 39 million cats received holiday presents last year

Has this got your attention yet?

Pet Smart is the largest pet retailer in the Unites States. Their service business is now $450 million a year. This grew from less than 1% of revenue in 2002 to 10% in 2007. They now refer to pet owners as “Pet Parents” in their marketing. They obviously understand that about a third of the people who have pets, think of them and treat them like human members of the family.

Expect some of the trends in how we spend money on ourselves to transfer to how people spend money on their pets. Premium pet food, like organic, vegan, and Kosher is increasing market share. The tainted pet food scare last year served to help this segment of the market. Some businesses experiencing growth recently:

• Luxury pet “spa” groomers
• Pet “hotel” boarding facilities
• Dogie daycare
• Designer pet attire

People have shown the willingness to spend big money on their pets. You should definitely be looking to find a way to accommodate them in the coming year.