One of the biggest trends coming out of 2021 was the rise of stay-at-home customers. People were spending more time at home than ever, reshaping demand across several industries where franchises operate.
According to an analysis from Google, the at-home consumer was being driven by several underlying behavior shifts.
- A new relationship with time and space. Time became more fluid, and people found more uses for the same space. Bedrooms became offices, living rooms became gyms, and kitchen tables doubled as classrooms. That shift helped drive demand for home-services businesses.
- Seeking novel ways to enjoy the outdoors. Travel restrictions encouraged people to invest more in their own backyards and outdoor spaces, benefiting pool, deck and related businesses.
- Redefining companionship. As people spent more time apart, many turned to pets for companionship, increasing demand for pet ownership and services such as boarding and daycare.
Home Services
Home services, because of their essential nature, are often considered recession-resistant. During the pandemic, some of these businesses grew rapidly. CNBC reported strong increases in home additions, fencing, security and privacy-related projects.
Premium Service Brands, which operates brands across several niche home-service categories, shared multiple growth stories during the period. 360° Painting expanded its system and reported year-over-year sales growth.
Pools and Outdoor Living
Pools and other outdoor-living categories also saw strong demand. CNBC reported significant growth in the swimming-pool market and rising investor interest in businesses tied to pool supplies and outdoor living.
Poolwerx, one of the world’s larger pool and hot-tub maintenance providers, opened 11 stores in 11 months in Australia. CEO John O’Brien described the home-service industry as recession-resistant and highlighted the resilience seen during COVID-19.
Pet Services
As stay-at-home customers looked for companionship, many found it in animals. The Washington Post reported that shelters, rescues, breeders and pet stores were seeing more demand than supply, with some organizations receiving dozens of applications for individual dogs.
Camp Bow Wow, a North American pet-care franchise focused on dog daycare and boarding, opened new camps and continued selling franchises during the pandemic.
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Stay-at-home customer behavior proved to be more than a short-lived anomaly. The examples above illustrate how shifts in where people spent their time created new growth opportunities across home services, outdoor living and pet-care franchises.
For more historical franchise-development trends, see the Franchise Sales Index Report.
