These Franchises are Projected to Grow the Most in 2024

While the franchise industry faced various economic challenges in 2023 such as inflation, labor shortages, and rising interest rates, it still met or exceeded projections. According to the?2024 Franchising Economic Outlook ?published by the International Franchise Association (IFA), employment growth saw a 2.9% increase in 2023 and output growth increased by 4.2%.?

Economic challenges are certainly not over, and 2024 is set to be a “transitional year for the U.S. economy and franchising"; however, despite the obstacles, the franchise industry is still expected to grow in 2024. These are the industries that are projected to see the most growth:?

• Personal Services Sector:?projected to lead growth in franchise establishments, growing by 3% to 124,508 units.?Personal services includes services related to beauty, health and fitness, storage, moving, education, childcare, sports and recreation, pets, and travel.?
• Quick Service Restaurants (QSRs):?projected to increase by 2.2% to more than 199,000 units.?QSRs are limited-service restaurants that serve meals at lower price points and typically provide fast service, a limited menu, and limited table service.
• Lodging Industry:?projected 0.9% increase in the number of franchises, reaching? 36,000 locations.?Lodging includes a wide range of accommodation types including hotels, B&Bs, resorts, hostels, motels, and others that provide a place to stay overnight.

Of course, not everyone can afford to open a hotel or a restaurant that requires expensive cooking and food preservation equipment. There are much lower cost options in the personal services sector, with some child and pet care businesses requiring less than $70,000 to start including working capital. And for less than $100,000, you could acquire multiple territories of some home-based personal services franchises. Comparing that to bricks and mortar QSRs, which seem to require a minimum investment of $400,000 in major metropolitan areas, personal services franchises might be worth exploring. Contact me if you would like to learn more.

To your success -?

Heather