The landscape of the pet industry is experiencing unrelenting growth, a phenomenon primarily fueled by one powerful and enduring cultural shift: the humanization of pets. Today’s pet owners have redefined their relationship with their animals, viewing their dogs and cats not merely as household pets, but as cherished, beloved family members. This emotional connection is driving a willingness among consumers to invest significantly more money in specialized services that are designed to cater to their pet’s total well-being.
For the small, independent pet store retailer, this trend elevates the grooming sector far beyond the traditional services of a simple bath and trim. It transforms it into a goldmine of opportunity. To thrive in 2026, a local pet store must transition from being a product supplier to establishing itself as a trusted destination focused on wellness and exceptional experiences.
We asked some top national award-winning groomers what they think is needed in 2026 for pet store owners to be successful when it comes to grooming services. Universally, they all recommended that retailers embrace the major trends emerging in both styling techniques and operational strategies. Small independent retailers can successfully differentiate their brand, significantly boost their overall retail sales, and ultimately construct a highly loyal customer base when services are done right. You can have a dedicated clientele that values superior quality, seamless convenience, and exceptional care above all else.
One of the most profound trends shaping the 2026 grooming market is the decisive move toward a comprehensive wellness approach. Pet owners are abandoning the older mindset where grooming was viewed as nothing more than a simple aesthetic chore. Instead, they are recognizing it as a vital and integral component of their pet’s preventative health routine.
Olga Zabelinskaya, an internationally certified master groomer, educator and Florida salon owner, thinks this allows groomers to be seen by pet parents as an important pathway for high-margin, specialized services within pet stores. These are services that actively address specific physical needs and emotional requirements of the animal, making the groom an essential health appointment.
“Groomers will see animals more often than their veterinarians. I once saw lumps in a dog’s cheeks, and a week later he was diagnosed with bone cancer. We know when things don’t look right,” says Zabelinskaya.
Besides being wellness experts, groomers themselves also need to step up and assume the role of a trusted, highly educated professional. Lis Johnston, a champion Groom Team USA medalist, always preaches the need for professionalism in the industry. Johnston believes that “many groomers need to re-frame how the client thinks about them. As a profession we must actively work to showcase our knowledge and change the way the industry is often thought of. We have a unique expertise and pet parents are coming to us to actively seek guidance on what is best for their pets.”
This expectation of professionalism starts with education. Johnston is also owner of three Serenity Pet Salons in the Madison, Wisconsin area, and she believes there are major gaps in the industry. The award-winning groomer believes that only 10 percent of those in her profession take the initiative to attend educational trade shows. She is a firm believer that groomers have a duty to set themselves apart from those with no advanced training. She would love to see more groomers actively strive to become certified master pet groomers. For a small pet retailer, this observation translates into a clear mandate: you must invest in your grooming staff. Johnston thinks retailers should “put time and investment into a young person and give them the education to succeed. Going beyond basic training will make a difference in your service to your customers.”
Zabelinskaya thinks a great source of revenue expansion is to tap into the pervasive “pet anxiety” market. Grooming services that actively prioritize cultivating a low-stress, truly calm environment are enormously appealing, particularly to owners whose pets are nervous, anxious, or elderly. She recommends that retailers should look critically at the physical layout of their space. “Dogs commonly get stressed on the table so make sure your grooming area is a quiet, out of the way area. Create a physically comfortable space that is successfully buffered and removed from the natural hustle and bustle of the main retail floor. It will provide a significantly better experience for the animal being groomed and the groomer performing the service.
When attention turns to the actual groom itself, the skill to view a dog as a blank canvas for true creative expression is necessary. The styles currently trending for 2026 are increasingly personalized and artistic, a development that is heavily driven and popularized by social media visibility. The most defining styles dominating the market are the “teddy bear” and the highly technical artistry of “Asian fusion” style. The teddy bear style is a round, cuddly style that is extremely popular, with ears looking like earmuffs. Both Johnston and Zabelinskaya think we’re in the Doodle age, where crossbreeds are highly sought after and styling is key to their appearance, so the animals are “social media” ready. Veronica Frosch, another national award winner and owner of The Paw Shoppe in Coon Rapids, Minn. agrees, particularly among smaller breeds.
“I tend to do more dog breed trims than anything else,” Frosch said. “People really want that teddy bear style. They want the round ears and round bodies”.
Zabelinskaya suggests this specific aesthetic trend is largely fueled by “mature women and single women that want their animals to look like babies.”
Because modern cuts are far fancier and more complex than those performed in years past, Zabelinskaya believes a significant opportunity exists for retailers to expand their retail offerings of grooming supplies. She often wishes that pet parents would do some minor grooming in between visits to her salon. Zabelinskaya adds that many retailers are selling “simple brushes and combs from the same manufacturers year after year that are not as good as the newer innovations on the market.”
The grooming industry is expanding rapidly and the tools that can be sold to pet parents are getting better.
On the operational side, pet stores integrating a grooming salon need a sophisticated strategy that heavily incorporates digital convenience and streamlined scheduling. Today’s busy pet owners demand convenience at every turn. Johnston knows this and runs her business with customer ease at the forefront.
“Businesses must recognize people are perpetually busy,” said Johnston. “Why not make life as easy as possible for clients and customers?”
To accommodate this non-negotiable demand, she advises small retailers to fully leverage technology. This means implementing a booking system that is simple, mobile-friendly, and online. Such a system should allow pet owners the freedom to book, reschedule, and receive automated reminders around the clock. Johnston specifically advises salon owners to commit to using auto scheduling to ensure a continuous client base. All the groomers collectively agree that being firm and consistent on scheduling not only ensures the animal’s coat health remains optimal, but also dramatically improves overall salon efficiency and profitability.
Despite the clear benefits of consistent scheduling, Frosch has seen a recent trend that speaks to broader economic pressures.
“People are waiting longer in between grooms and often putting grooms off by a week or two to save money,” Frosch said, adding that it does affect her personal scheduling but she gets around this by setting very clear expectations with clients upfront. “I have a full schedule of clients, who are all on four, five or six-week schedules. When I take on a client, they are committed to bringing in their pet on this set schedule.”
This strategy allows her to weed out less committed pet parents quickly and her clients appreciate the regularity. The Minnesota champion groomer currently is not taking new clients and has an extensive waiting list.
The undeniable key to success for small pet store retailers in 2026 is the ability to be agile, quick to adapt and hyper-local in focus. Independent stores can’t compete with the sheer volume and scale offered by a big-box competitor, but they can succeed via quality, depth of expertise and a truly personalized experience. Small pet retailers should embrace these trends and jump into grooming services, because they’re a clear cut path to future success.
Mary Tan is the founder and chief storyteller of Whisker Media, a pet public relations firm focused on the pet industry. She is an award-winning former broadcast journalist who lives in Minnesota with three cats and a Mexican rescue pup named Freddie.
