Every three years, Pet Sitters International conducts the State of the Industry Survey, the pet-sitting industry's most comprehensive survey helping generate the most valid data for pet sitters anywhere in the industry.
The following results from PSI's 2011 State of the Industry (SOI) Survey are a high-level summation of the overall survey analysis. It is intended to give you a big-picture view of the industry and of PSI. More in-depth analysis of the data will be included in the Pet Sitter’s WORLD. The July/August issue will include PSI member and client demographics, income averages and technology usage. The September/October issue of the magazine will include financial averages and the November/December issue will include retail trends.
PSI’s 2011 SOI Survey was made possible by a grant from Eukanuba Naturally Wild, “premium dog food inspired by the wilderness.”
Background
PSI’s 2011 Membership Survey was conducted to attain the following objectives:
- Develop a member profile
- Determine sources used for information and pet-related issues
- Examine pet-related trends
- Assess level of satisfaction with PSI
How the survey was conducted
This year’s survey was again conducted exclusively online. PSI conducted the survey from April 9, 2011 to April 29, 2011. A total of 1,947 members completed the survey, which reflects a 27% response rate from PSI’s membership.
Results
Business Profile
- 98.6% of all businesses are independently owned.
- The majority of businesses are owned by women (83.3%).
- On average, 22% of members have at least one full-time employee and 21.8% have at least one part-time employee.
- 53% of members state they never use independent contractors—24% say they rarely do.
- 47.2% of respondents conduct background checks on staff sitters.
- The majority of members carry both liability and bonding insurance (84.5%).
- The majority of members service both dogs and cats (96%). The other top companion animals serviced are birds (63%), fish (61.6%) and cage pets (59.8%).
- PSI’s U.S. membership population is evenly divided among the Northeastern, Southeastern, Central and Western states with the Central states having a slightly higher membership percentage.
- 4.6% of the total PSI membership is internationally based.
- 44% of members primarily service suburban areas.
- The average revenue for 2010 was $48,635.00; average number of clients 103, average number of pet-sitting assignments was 2,606.
- For conventional advertising methods, word of mouth (93.4%) and business cards (86.1%) were most prevalent among respondents. Other popular advertising methods include brochures (36.5%), car signs (36.4%) and fliers/posters (33.8%).
- For online advertising, the majority of respondents rely on the PSI Locator (86%), their business Web site (70.5%) and Facebook (42.6%).
- The majority of respondents offer basic sits (96.6%), dog walking (93.4%), care of special needs pets (88.4%), pet transportation (63.5%) and overnight sits (58.9%). Most PSI members do not offer grooming, behavior or obedience training, pooper scooping, errand service, in-home sits (in the member’s home) or doggie day care.
Member Profile
- The typical member is female, age 41 to 60 (63.1%), Caucasian (94.3%), married (58.9%) and owns her home (79.8%).
- Additionally, she has completed at least some college (90.1%) and has been in the business for 5 years or less (46.4%).
- Pet sitters most commonly own dogs (88.3%) and cats (78.1%). Of these, members typically own 2 dogs and 3 cats.
- 52.4% of all members belong to their local Chamber of Commerce and 22% belong to the Better Business Bureau. Client Profile
- On average the typical pet sitter client is a married couple between the ages of 36-50 (45%).
- Members state there are more married couples without children (43.9%), than couples with children (30.6%) who utilize their services.
- Single females (24.2%) tend to use pet sitters at more than double the rate of single males (10.3%).
- Clients under the age of 25 years old were the smallest group, making up only 4.3% of all clients.
- 77.5% of all clients pay in the form of a check—only 19.9% pay with cash.
Technology
- 52.2% of respondents indicated an interest in participating in PSI Webinars. The top five topics were:
- Marketing
- Hiring/Employees/ICs
- Business Practices
- Clients/Customer Service
- Social Media/Facebook
- 82.7% of members read Pet Sitter's WORLD “Always” (100% of the time) or “Often” (75% of the time.) Besides the Pet Sitter's WORLD, the top hard copy information sources were Dog Fancy and Bark.
- More than half read PSI’s e-newsletter, The Scoop, Always or Often.
- 68.7% stated they visit www.petsit.com most often for business- related issues.
- 68% of respondents use or plan to use social media in their businesses. The top five social media sites were:
- Facebook (95.6%)
- LinkedIn (38.3%)
- Twitter (30.3%)
- YouTube (21.6%)
- Blogs (18.6%)
- The top technologies for current or future use were:
- Business Web site (74%)
- Laptop/PC (69.1%)
- Smart Phone (65.9%)
PSI Satisfaction
When asked to rate overall satisfaction with PSI, 80% stated they were Satisfied or Very Satisfied.
Summary
The information presented here is from the statistical analysis from the PSI 2011 State of the Industry Survey. PSI collects this industry-wide information in order to describe the typical PSI members and the clients who use their services. Survey data is used by individual members in preparation of financial plans and loan applications. It is also disseminated to pet industry media sources to show the growth of pet sitting and its influence in the pet-care industry. Look for additional survey results, including detailed financial averages and product trends in the current and future issues of the WORLD.
