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The number of households with pets has reached 5.91 million, yet facilities available for use with pets are severely lacking. Another factor complicating outings for pet owners is the lack of information about pet-friendly places. There is no adequate channel to find related information, and the lack of accurate information causes inconvenience for many pet owners. In response, pet tech company Pawdless has developed the pet-friendly location curation service 'Pawdly Spot' to address information asymmetry.

Pet Tech Company Pawdless to Launch Pet-Friendly Location Curation Service 'Pawdly Spot' in March Next Year

According to the '2025 Korea Pet Report' published by KB Financial Group Management Research Institute, as of the end of last year, the domestic population owning pets was 15.46 million, with 5.91 million households, accounting for 26.7% of all households. KB Financial Group Management Research Institute points out, “Many guardians want to spend ample time and bond with their pets for their happiness, but there are still far too few places to spend that time in daily life.”

Pet owners with experience going out with their pets point out the lack of pet-friendly places and the absence of accurate information. Instances frequently occur where pet owners visit a pet-friendly restaurant only to be turned away because large dogs are not allowed, or they are refused entry for not having a stroller or carrier. This highlights why simply indicating 'pet-friendly' in location searches is insufficient.

For pet owners, it is crucial to know whether indoor access is available, if large dogs are allowed, whether there is a pet-specific menu, and what the seating distance and space atmosphere are like. However, it is often challenging to confirm these details through internet searches alone. To improve this situation, pet tech company Pawdless has stepped forward.

Pawdless operates 'Pawdly,' a reservation and customer management solution for guardians and pet grooming salons. It provides a service that arranges reservations within 24 hours for guardians seeking pet grooming. Based on a questionnaire developed with veterinarians, it informs grooming experts of any special notes such as the pet's surgical history or health status to ensure a safe service. It also offers a prepayment feature for reservations to franchisees to prevent no-shows. The company also operates a marketplace for purchasing pet products.

Pawdless is conducting research and development to introduce the pet-friendly location curation service 'Pawdly Spot,' following Pawdly and the marketplace.

Pawdless plans to offer a high-sensitivity curation service through Pawdly Spot, beyond just finding pet-friendly places. For example, it will provide customized location recommendations reflecting the pet's breed, size, sociability, and temperament, as well as the guardian's preferences, hobbies, and lifestyle.

The background enabling this service configuration is the combination of data and emotional curation. It results from adding the narratives of actual visitors centered on social media such as Instagram to the location experiences shared directly by pet owners within the community app. In the process of sharing information and experiences, users can receive location information recommended by guardians close to their area or places visited by guardians with similar tastes.

Pawdless emphasizes that by organizing the reasons for wanting to visit places with pets in a storytelling format, it is possible to discover and match lifestyle-tailored locations for guardians, considering ▲pet-specific menu or space composition ▲brand philosophy and atmosphere ▲guardian preferences (travel, gastronomy, design, etc.).

Lee Shin-hye, CEO of Pawdless, stated, “We are developing Pawdly Spot with the goal of launching in March next year. We will provide accurate conditions, the latest information, and reviews based on actual experiences so that guardians can confidently choose pet-friendly places,” adding, “Pawdly Spot is a location-sharing community service that goes beyond simple location search functionality, allowing users to create location information themselves, share maps with each other, discover preferences, and recommend places. We will provide a service to find pet-friendly locations that are close to and perfectly match your preferences. In the long term, we aim to enhance the service by integrating AI agent technology with pet and guardian lifestyle data to automatically recommend customized locations for each guardian.”

IT Donga Reporter Kim Dong-jin (kdj@itdonga.com)

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