Artie, Max, Colin and now Tarmac (the stray cat)
Our dog, Colin, on Christmas
Oh how we love our pets. I am bias; I have three pets that control my life, all dogs. However I recently started to feed the neighborhood stray cat so it looks like I have another mouth to feed, Tarmac. As I was looking through our neighborhood pet journal, yes they have devoted an entire newsprint around our furry friends, I found these stats on how much we adore our dogs and cats. I also have to admit I fall into each one of these stats. Do you?
According to the American Humane Society:
- 27% of pet owners take their pet with them for the family photo including holiday Christmas and Easter shots and 64% include their pets in the holiday cards.
- 20% of pet households leave their TV or radio on for their pet when they are not at home so the animals don’t feel left alone.
- 16% of dog owners claim to have purchased their vehicle with their dog’s accommodations in mind.
- 36% of pet owners celebrate their dogs birthdays, 63% give their pets Christmas presents and 40% include a Christmas stocking for their pet for a total holiday spend each year totaling over $5 billion on holiday gifts!
Colin and myself on Christmas morning
If you are in the pet industry you certainly have a lot of purchasing power. These customers cater to their pets and can be upsold with convenience items, boutique food and treats and specialty grooming and toys for their pets. Just make sure when you see them, your customer service is not just directed to the pet owner but the pets too. Sharing the love with a pet owner will certainly win you more doggie treat purchases!
Colin and his new toy
There are a lot of creative marketing ideas to cater to pet owners and a lot of ways to win their loyalty. With a little time and commitment you can certainly become the place to shop and beat out the big box pet stores. Be creative and innovative and think about what pet owners like, use the stats above to come up with promotional ideas that can win their hearts and their pocketbooks. Look at opportunities others are not doing and don’t try to promote the same things Petco or Pet Smart do. Carve out a niche for your service area and get to know your customers and their pets personally. That in of itself would be something the big stores can’t beat you on. For specific ideas for your store contact some creative marketing firms such as Princeton Marketing Group. We make it easy for you to gain market share and increase purchases.
