Not expanding or adding a retail department at your pet center because you think it’s not worth the effort or you don’t have the space? It’s time to rethink your decision.

The extra income can give your bottom line a significant boost and give your reception area a warm and welcoming feel. With the holiday season approaching, now is an excellent time to add new products for customers looking to purchase gifts for their pets or for friends and family.

Before reaching for pet industry catalogs or going to online sites to order holiday products, take a look at the pet and pet owner demographics for your center. In order to sell products as quickly as possible, you should carry items that appeal to the most common denominator. The retail on your shelves should reflect who your customers are and should appeal to the majority of their interests and budget.

Are you in an active retirement community, urban business area with lots of 30-somethings, or in rustic mountain country? Your retail products should reflect whatever the predominant culture is in your area as well as what leisure activities are popular. Chic pet clothes and bling are great for selling in high-income urban neighborhoods, but they might not do as well in rural Texas, unless the bling is on a doggie cowboy hat!

Consider the following things before making a wholesale purchase. Ask yourself, “Would I want to own or use it?” If certain items don’t move very well, they may end up in your own home or as gifts for your friends and family. For example, most of our grandchildren received the adorable (but not very sellable) doggie house shoes when they were between two and five years old.

Another question would be, “Is the price point too high to move quickly?” In the mid-1990s, I wanted to carry the beautifully carved Sandicast figurines in my store. After paying the required $2,000 first-order price, I had a lovely selection to display proudly. However, the breed-specific figurines were very hard to sell at a retail price of $40 to $200 per unit. No matter how well I chose which breeds to sell, I never seemed to have what the client wanted. I either had the wrong color or wrong size – a chocolate Standard Poodle instead of an apricot Toy! Retail reports show that sales of collectibles have dropped dramatically over the past few years, and any type of collection should probably be avoided.

Instead carry items that you know and trust. Through the years, I have tried out many new products on my own pets and have found some real jewels to pass on to my customers. Most recently I found that wrapping my sweet Chow-Chow in a cozy Thundershirt calmed him incredibly during storms, just as the company claimed. Since that revelation, we have sold countless Thundershirts because of the personal success my staff and I had with our own pets. Your customers trust the care of their precious pets to you and your staff; they will believe what you tell them about a product and trust your suggestions.

Breed-specific items can be a good choice to attract holiday shoppers. Buy from a company that requires a lower minimum, so your initial investment won’t be too high. A dozen units at a price lower than $15 would be a great idea if the item has broad appeal. One great example would be pet stockings. As mentioned above, focus on the breeds that visit your center the most often. Stockings can be hung from a shelf and will automatically put your customers in a holiday mood.

For customers who want to grab a quick gift, be sure to have some pre-made gift baskets ready to go. An easy-to-make gift would be to fill your stockings with treats. Wrap biscuits and other treats in clear plastic wrap, tie with ribbon, and place them inside the stocking. Pretty containers packed with specific supplies for puppies, cats, and even specific breeds will be popular and probably sell quickly as the holidays approach.

Along with holiday-themed items, obvious choices of retail would be those that complement the services you offer. It makes no sense to have obedience training and not sell the treats, tools, crates, and other necessary accessories. Why force the customer to find this elsewhere?

Other common staples in most stores are rawhide and chew treats. Although they are still popular, we have opted to carry naturally-shed antlers instead, because we believe they are nutritionally better for dogs. Our customers appreciate the alternative.

I like to carry items backed by the company’s guarantee or from companies that stand behind their quality, such as Premier and Lupine. Pet owners have confidence in products when they know the company will replace it at no cost and no hassle if their dog destroys it.

Most business owners think that wall shelving and free-standing displays are their only options for selling retail. They are hesitant to crowd or block a small, busy reception area. However, by thinking outside the box, your ceilings, doors, and windows can be an excellent way to display a larger volume of stock and not cause a traffic jam of dogs and customers. With creative planning, even the smallest area in your center can be profitable.

High shelves around the room can be used for displaying bulky items. To install on a standard eight-foot wall, use 12- to 16-inch wide shelves and drop down about one foot from the ceiling in order to comply with state building codes that usually require a seven-foot clearance from the floor in walk areas. Avoid mounting shelves over walkways and doors to avoid feeling cramped unless you have very high ceilings of nine feet or more. Slanted shelves that have a stop or shoe-mold installed at the edge can be used for pet beds, soft pet carriers, breed-embroidered pillows and other items that traditionally take up a lot of room. Add track lights, and you will have an eye-catching display that will attract interest.

Add adjustable glass shelves across recessed windows. The items displayed should not be light sensitive, such as vitamins or supplements, grooming products, or fabric items that may fade. Ceramic pet food dishes, picture frames, and other decorative items are a good choice. For a dramatic effect, put small lamps on the shelves, and turn them on to draw the customer’s attention. At night, this creates a dramatic visual effect. Anything used for decoration in the reception area, such as paintings, plants, or other knick-knacks, should be for sale and always marked with a price tag.

If there are doors in your reception area that are kept closed most of the time (e.g. a secondary door to the grooming area, a closet, or a rarely-used office space), why not use this dead space for mounting retail items? Samples of the special-order items you sell can be hung there to advertise features such as embroidery or color choices.

Another option is to mount items that may be hard for customers to look through, such as memorial pet stones or mats for pet food bowls. If it’s too hard for a customer to look at, most people won’t take the time. Be sure to have the price and label attached under each sample.

In order to have a profitable business, every inch of real estate in your center needs to earn its keep. Accounting should accurately show income and expenses for each department. This will give you a clear understanding if all departments are pulling their own weight. If you are currently selling only a few collars, leashes, and rawhide, you are not taking advantage of some very valuable real estate in your reception area. Even if you choose to keep the number of items small, make sure to have lots of multiples of your best sellers so that your display looks full. Customers are not attracted to sparse selections.

Whether you are opposed to how early some stores begin selling their holiday items, smart retailers will decorate by the first week of November. This year, we are excited to have someone in our store embroidering items for our customers who want to personalize their gifts. Set a festive mood by having a pot of Wassail brewing, some flavored coffee and cookies, and you’ve got an event to promote! It makes coming to your place a happy experience and will encourage customers to spend money at your store instead of some other business. Give me a call if you are looking for some very cute doggie house shoes... I may have your size!.

Suzanne Locker has owned and operated ABC Pet Resort since 1991. ABC is a multi-service pet care center located in Houston, Texas. Her husband, Al, co-owns ABC and has designed over 40 pet care and veterinary centers across the U.S., 12 of which are in the Houston area.  Suzanne has been a seminar speaker for various local and national conferences covering topics such as Motivating Employees, Organization & Efficiency in Your Business, and Adding a Profitable Retail Department. In 2007, the Lockers were keynote speakers for AusBoard, Australia’s national conference for the pet boarding industry held in Cairns, Australia.

Next Article