Are You Barking Up The Concierge Pet Care Tree?

Pets have gone from being man’s best friend to man’s entire world in the blink of an eye. In today’s day and age, humans bend over backward for their four-legged (sometimes more, sometimes less) friends, so much so that a multi-billion dollar industry has emerged—the rapidly expanding pet products and services market is poised to pull in $91 billion this year, according to the American Pet Products Association. 

Pet ownership has been on the rise for the past two decades, most notably on the canine front—approximately 48 percent of U.S. households own a dog, the APPA estimates. These numbers contribute to the demand for boarding, grooming, care and retail services for our companions that are, more often than not, considered full-blown family members. 

We expect our pets to receive nothing less than five-star treatment, services and products at every turn, which has, in turn, led to a wave of innovation in the space, as evidenced by the development of a number of apps and gadgets designed to deliver our friends the treatment we’ve come to expect for them—and frankly, that they deserve. 

Rover, a dog concierge app, gives owners the ability to hire dog walkers, sitters and playmates at the tap of a finger. According to GeekWire, Rover has hired over 200,000 pet sitters nationwide and is now worth close to $970 million. By creating a service that connects demand (dog owners in need of pet care services) to supply (a growing army of gig workers looking for flexible employment), Rover has tapped into the convenience cravings of our modern times and commodified them to an impressive degree. It’s not the only company to do so , either—Wag! and PetBacker are other big-name service apps with similar models and levels of popularity, as well. 

It’s clear the app invasion into nearly all areas of commerce didn’t spare pet services—but with something so personal, is there a means of protecting our pooches from the nature of technology and automation that, in its current existence, is more impersonal than anything? In a recent analysis of the pet care landscape as it relates to technology, Virtuul noted that once pet care apps start targeting millennials instead of boomers, what is now already more than a trend has the potential to generate even more revenue. As more and more millennials evolve into pet owners, managing busy schedules yet simultaneously sparing no expense on a high level of care for their companions, it appears the tech infusion into the pet care space is only just beginning.

Image courtesy of Rover on Instagram.