Pet services is an estimated $5.5 billion dollar industry with pockets of opportunity due to national lockdowns requiring people stay at home. If you’re looking for a recession resistant mobile business opportunity this is one worth evaluating for 2020 and beyond.

The Opportunity:

As weeks of social distancing is turning into months, it’s not just humans that need a trim. Pets are in need of a cut and clean as well. In the past, dog owners might head to the local Petco for their dog cut and cleaning. But why go out and put your pet’s health at risk when these services can come to your home?

According to the website Google Trends, the number of people searching for “mobile pet grooming” has more doubled since the same time period last year.

mobile pet grooming interest

Mobile pet grooming interest according to Google Trends.

According to Google Trends these are the states where this mobile service is in highest demand. Many of these hot spots are in locations with an above average number of senior citizens:

  • Florida
  • Maryland
  • Arizona
  • Rhode Island
  • Nevada

Description of Pet Grooming Business

dog

This guy could be your customer.

Dog groomers drive to the location of a customers house and will typically wash and groom the dog. You will usually get feedback from the pet owner on their desired length of cut and any special requests. For example, some customers may want a special shampoo or oil be used. After the cut and comb is completed you’ll usually comb the dogs hair and make the pup presentable. Then you’re done!

On average you can expect to spend about an hour per customer at a home. This time includes greeting the pet owner, cleaning, cutting the dogs hair and collecting payment. If you provide a quality service and treat customers fairly, you can maintain a consistent base of customers for years.

Advantages

There are a few key advantages to operating a mobile pet grooming business:

  • Mobile: You can bring your services to customers. No need to rent out a retail space. Home service is preferred by customers too since not all dogs behave well around other pets or enjoy leaving their homes.
  • Lower Cost: Instead of paying rent at a retail location invest in a dog grooming trailer or truck, you will pay off and own outright.
  • Recession Resistant: Historically, the pet industry isn’t impacted by recessions. In fact, spend in this category grew by 17% in 2009. With a base of pet customers that’s 85 million people strong, you’ve got a large market to serve no matter where you’re located in the United States.

Outside the Box Opportunities

Perhaps one of the biggest opportunities is the ability to recommend associated products and services to pet owners. In other words… What else would a might dog owner to make their pet’s life better?

Sure… They’ve probably got the dog food covered, leashes, and toys that can be more conveniently order through Amazon or other retailers. But there are all sorts of creative offerings that could add more value to your customers. Here are a couple emerging trends:

Doggy Day Care: One of the biggest challenges owning a pet is when you decide to go on vacation or need to travel for work. By adding this simple service, you can greatly increase your average customer value. You could also partner with a dog sitter and charge a small fee for every referral if you’d rather not babysit.

Pet Insurance: Visits to the hospital can be expensive for you. Visits to the vet are becoming more expensive as well. To help cut out-of-pocket costs, more and more consumers are turning toward pet health insurance. Only 1% – 2% of all dogs in the United States a pet insurance plan according to reports. But this number continues to increase each year.

There are all sorts of programs that will allow you to sell pet insurance as part of an affiliate program and get a kick back. Here’s one example. Even large insurers like Nationwide have gotten involved in this up-and-coming category.

In good times and bad there are always opportunities. You just need to know where to look. If you enjoyed this post, let us know and we’ll continue highlighting more examples of mobile businesses seeing success in the current environment. If you’re in the market for a pet grooming truck or trailer, give us a call at 904-397-0246.