Feeling the Competition
I feel our biggest challenges are attracting the younger dog/cat owner away from online pet-supply purchases and just online competition with brick-and-mortar stores. — Todd Ruppenthal, Happy Husky Bakery, Evanston, IL
Experimenting
This holiday season gave us the opportunity to experiment with a Holiday Gift Guide and a December Pet Activities Calendar. — Keefer Dickerson, Nashville Pet Products, Nashville, TN
Best News
The best news of the season was all the brand-new customers finding their way into the store and learning all the benefits of a holistic way of feeding and treating their furry family. — Michelle Pelletier, Bentley’s Pet Stuff, Grafton, WI
New Ideas
We tried some new ideas. Our newest was the 12 Days of Christmas. We featured one item (or group of items) each day starting on Dec. 12 and posted a short video of it on Instagram/Facebook and offered it at a higher discount than normal. — Diane Marcin, Benny’s Pet Depot, Mechanicsburg, PA
Advice Needed
I’d love to learn how to sell more higher margin products better! Talk to the people who do it well and see if they’ll share …. We sell food well, but not treats, toys, chews and other products …. Need advice! — Janelle Pitula, Wags To Whiskers, Plainfield, IL
Word Spreading
We have some new staff working who are helping to push our retail and opened a Shopify account so that anyone can buy a gift certificate for their pup, grand pup or nephew pup, right online! And in our second Christmas as a boarding and daycare facility, word-of-mouth is nicely spreading about our services. — Angela Pantalone, Wag Central, Stratford, CT
Double-Digit Growth
October and November were both up 20-plus percent. December is flat with last year. Being a Minnesota store, winter came early and people started shopping early, which really boosted November sales. Still will be up over 10 percent for the year, and we’re very excited about double-digit growth after 14 years. — Michelle Nelson, The Pet Authority, Albert Lea, MN
Weather Woes
Due to weather, we’ve had a hard time getting birds shipped. No bird sales = no cage sales = no toy and feed sales. Trying to stay positive. — Paul Lewis, Birds Unlimited, Webster, NY