PetGroomer.com Pet and Dog Groomer Resource with Grooming Schools

There are several sources of statistics for the pet industry although not all of them focus on pet care but the pet industry as a whole. That's still valuable information for you.

You may be able to obtain market profiles from H.H. Backer Associates. Also, the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association (APPMA) publishes an excellent market profile. You can look up the APPMA in the PetGroomer.com World Directory of Grooming - Associations.

Be sure to get a copy of the most current annual release Pet Facts from the American Animal Hospital Association, P.O. Box 150899, Denver, CO 80215, telephone (303) 298-1818, fax (303) 986-1700.

According to the recent APPMA survey released in early 1998, U.S. consumers spent more than $21 billion on pets in 1996. Of that, $9 billion was pet services. Overall, consumer households with pets spent an average of $350 each. Pet ownership was up 3 percent since 1988 with more households than ever claiming their pets are "family members."

U.S. Pet Ownership and Demographics Sourcebook is a professionals choice for excellent pet ownership trends and vital statistics. It costs around $80 and is available from the American Veterinary Medical Association, in Schaumberg, IL. Call 847-925-8070 for more information. Here's an important statistic from their 1996 survey, "As the population (ed. note U.S. population) ages, the proportion is moderately declining. In 1996, according to the AVMA, about 27 percent of U.S. households owned a cat, down from 31 percent in 1987. Yet households that own pets have more pet than they did a decade ago. Dogs in dog owning households increased to 1.61 dogs per household, up from 1.51 in 1987. Cats in cat owning households increased to 2.19 from 1.95 in 1987. Overall, though the number of households with dogs and cats moderately declined, the pet dog and cat population increased from 1998, with about 1 million more dogs, and 5 million more cats.

This Info Menu is Sponsored by:

Dog Licensing Statistics

Because pet owner statistics are almost universally difficult to come on regional levels, many people turn to local dog licensing statistics. From our experience we have long advised people that they will likely understate their local market of pet dog and cat owners if they turn to licensing statistics. Now, we have some better evidence of just how great the diversity may be.

According to Dan Knapp, executive director for the Humane Society of Santa Rosa, California, "According to national statistics, a city the size of Santa Rosa (population of 132,000) should have about 77,000 licensed dogs." How many are licensed in Santa Rosa? 12,500. If you were compiling statistics for the marketing profile of a business plan for a pet business, the investor or banker is certainly going to be more impressed with 77,000 versus 12,500. Based on the national average of 60% of households owning pets, Santa Rosa probably has 30,000 or more households with pets, and therefore far more than 12,500 dogs. According to Dan Knapp, 4,600 dogs and cats were impounded in Santa Rose during 1996, or nearly 20 percent of all dogs if all pet owners had licensed them. No way there are that many licensed pet dogs on the loose.

As a very general rule of thumb, we believe that you can double the number of licensed dogs in your area and safely approximate the dog population. However, the multiplier is certainly going to be more in some areas, and lower in others. We suggest you avoid using dog licensing statistics altogether and look to statistics based on national and local pet ownership ratios based on number of households in the market area. Your local Chamber of Commerce should be able to provide you with number of household statistics.

We have even more market information on the next page.