Private Investigation Services Market

Private Investigation Services Market Outlook (2022 to 2032)

The global private investigation services market stands at US$ 18.2 billion in 2022 and is forecasted to expand at a CAGR of 4.5% to reach US$ 28.2 billion by the end of 2032.

Private investigation services accounted for nearly 20% share of the global security services market in 2021.

Report Attributes	Details
Private Investigation Services Market Size (2021A)	US$ 17.4 Billion
Estimated Market Value (2022E)	US$ 18.2 Billion
Forecasted Market Value (2032F)	US$ 28.2 Billion
Global Market Growth Rate (2022 to 2032)	4.5% CAGR
North America Market Share (2021)	~35%
East Asia Market Growth Rate (2022 to 2032)	~4.9% CAGR
United States Market Growth Rate (2022 to 2032)	~4.2% CAGR
Key Companies Profiled	AAC Group; ACES Private Investigations Houston; AMX Detectives; Apple Investigations; Bill Robison Investigations; Bobby Dean Investigations; Canadian Special Investigations; Cunningham Investigations; Detective international; Foglight Investigations; Global Threat Solutions; Golden Shield Security services; IBM Investigations, LLC; IPI International Private Investigators; Lancer network limited; Private Detective London; Rhino Surveillance; Scope Investigations Limited; Securitas AB; Truth Investigations

Burgeoning Legal & Financial Fraud Will Increase Importance of Private Investigation Services Industry

Rapid increase in fraud across industry verticals has created tremendous demand for private investigation services. Over the last few years, businesses are going digital and trying to capture a larger part of the market share with the help of increased visibility. However, this digitalization of businesses has also resulted in new kinds of fraud that were not possible in the pre-digitalization era.

From data theft to financial fraud, any kind of fraudulent activity in today’s world can be carried out by sitting in the comfort of the home. Enterprises and individuals are taking the help of private investigation services to resolve such issues.

• Short Term (2022 to 2025): During COVID, fraudsters created fake apps & websites, collected data & money, and sold it off on the black market. In the short run, it is expected that there will be a huge demand for private investigation services in the field of finance.
• Medium Term (2025 to 2028): Factors such as complex business conditions, multicultural society, and cross-border tensions, among others, will shape the future of the private detective services market.
• Long Term (2028 to 2032): Technology advancements in the field of security will be seen. With the help of technology, market players would be able to solve the queries of their clients in the most efficient way with utmost accuracy.

The global market for private investigation services expanded at a CAGR of 3.9% from 2017 to 2021. According to the report by Fact.MR, a market research and competitive intelligence provider, the market is expected to expand faster at 4.5% CAGR between 2022 and 2032.

Market share analysis of private investigation services based on end-use industry and region. Under end-use industry, the BFSI sector dominates with 19% market share in 2022.

How is the Private Investigation Services Market Evolving?

“Rapidly Growing Competition among Businesses”

With the increasing digitalization of businesses and rising globalization, almost all industries are facing tough competition. This competitive scenario has given rise to several other businesses/services.

Private investigation is one such industry that has seen a significant rise in demand from the corporate side. Enterprises want to keep an eye on their competitors in many ways, such as constantly researching their product launches website designs, vendor lists, etc.

Enterprises also use private detective services in case of talent hiring, especially when they have to hire for a management role. Private investigators, on behalf of the company, will carry out background verification based on multiple factors such as finance, legal, prior employment, etc.

“Increasing Financial Fraud Driving Need for Private Investigation Services”

Financial fraud is one of the most common frauds occurring from the corporate level to the individual level. In the U.S. alone, every year, around US$ 60-70 billion is lost due to false insurance claims. Insurance firms hire private detectives to carry out investigations on their behalf to identify correct and genuine claims among all the submitted claims.

There is no denying that the fintech revolution has helped and made life easy for the general public. However, it has also resulted in a high number of frauds related to fintech, such as Frauds such as ATM fraud, OTP fraud, and payment banks fraud, among others. As such, private investigation service providers have witnessed high demand for their services in solving cases and bringing out the know-how of these cases.

“Unorganized Market Coupled with Trust Issues”

The private investigation services market is an unorganized sector. There are no or few rules that define the framework to carry out day-to-day business activities. The market is filled with numerous individual practitioners and small enterprises.

Given the fact that there are no specific regulatory bodies to set the rules and regulations for private investigation services, the industry has failed to create a bridge of trust with its target customers. Sometimes, this lack of trust becomes a hindrance for market players in acquiring new clients. Entry into the industry and starting a new business is also very easy; established players need to watch out for new market players who are trying to capture some market share through new and innovative methods.

Country-wise Insights

Is the U.S. a Prominent Private Investigation Services Market?

The U.S. economy, as a whole, is very mature in every aspect. The U.S. private investigation industry plays an important role in keeping the system clean and well-functioning. The U.S. market is valued at around US$ 5.2 billion in 2022.

The private investigation industry is witnessing a swift change in how the sector operates and carries out its services. The integration of technology has changed both customers as well as service providers. Surprisingly, amid the current economic scenario, as per data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, private investigation services will enjoy healthy growth of 6% in terms of employment outlook for the next two years.

How is the Indian Private Investigation Services Market Expected to Fare?

The Indian economy is witnessing a technological revolution. Integration of technology is happening across sectors such as BFSI, manufacturing, education, and healthcare, among others.

Technology enhancement has also led to a new kind of fraud happening with people and corporates. Data breaches, hacking, and wrongful banking transactions are some of the few common frauds that are taking place in India regularly.

Since the Indian economy is evolving at such a fast pace, it has become impossible for people/corporates to get accustomed to the new technology and its features. Thus, it is expected that the Indian investigation services market will attract huge demand from corporates as well as individuals over the coming years.

Category-wise Insights

Why are Background Verification Services Highly Demanded?

The global employment market looks promising given the current business scenario. Enterprises across the world are reporting good financial numbers and scaling their businesses to new locations. The hiring trends among business has been rising post-COVID.

Background verification is one of the important aspects of hiring a potential candidate for a particular role. The results of background verification can make or break the chances of getting a job. Corporates take the help of private investigation agencies to carry out the background verification of potential candidates before hiring them. Often, in an individual capacity also, market players receive requests to carry out background verifications of individuals, primarily before marriage, subletting apartments, and partnership agreements, among others.

Will BFSI Continue to Be the Largest Customer of Private Investigation Companies?

The BFSI sector is one of the most affected sectors by different kinds of fraud. Frauds such as duplicate banking transactions, unauthorized transactions, loan defaults, and fake insurance claims, among others, are a few examples of frauds related to this sector.

Most of the time these frauds are financial in nature; if not, then they might be related to consumers’ data, and it becomes a more serious issue for BFSI enterprises. BFSI companies are entering into long-term partnership contracts with private investigation providers where the investigating agencies look after these issues faced by their clients.

Companies are spending millions on conveying the message to their customers about the dos and don’ts related to banking and financial transactions.

Competitive Landscape

Prominent private investigation service providers are AAC Group, ACES Private Investigations Houston, AMX Detectives, Apple Investigations, Bill Robison Investigations, Bobby Dean Investigations, Canadian Special Investigations, Cunningham Investigations, Detective international, Foglight Investigations, Global Threat Solutions, Golden Shield Security services, IBM Investigations, LLC, IPI International Private Investigators, Lancer network limited, Private Detective London, Rhino Surveillance, Scope Investigations Limited, Securitas AB, and Truth Investigations.

The global private investigation services market is highly competitive owing to easy entry into this space. Market players are integrating technology into their service offerings to capture a larger market share.

• In April 2022, Private Investigation firm 'The Investigators NZ Limited' acquired process serving and skip tracing company 'iServe Limited'.

Fact.MR has provided detailed information about the providers of private investigation services positioned across regions, revenue growth, and service offering expansion, in the recently published report.

Segmentation of Private Investigation Services Industry Research

• By Service:

  • Personal Services
    • Infidelity Check
    • Divorce
    • Surveillance & Shadowing
  • Corporate Services
    • Employee Verification
    • Competitor Investigation
    • Corporate Espionage
    • Financial Fraud Verification
    • Corporate Due Diligence
  • Legal Services
    • Labour Court Case
    • Domestic Violence
    • Tracing & Suspicious IP
    • Website Tracking
    • Asset Search
  • Other Services
    • Background Check
    • Debugging
    • Drug Abuse
    • Theft Investigation
    • Record Search
    • Others (Not Mentioned Elsewhere)

• By End-use Industry:

  • BFSI
  • Agriculture and Forestry
  • Information Technology
  • Construction
  • Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation
  • Manufacturing
  • Transportation, Warehousing, and Utilities
  • Retail Trade
  • Educational Services
  • Public Administration

• By Region:

  • North America
  • Latin America
  • Europe
  • East Asia
  • South Asia & Oceania
  • Middle East & Africa