During the month of June, millions across the globe will gather to celebrate LGBT Pride. Pride parades range in size from 5 million attendees in Sao Paulo, Brazil to only a 100 in Sligo, Ireland. No matter big or small there will be parades and parties held in every major city across the US and even in some small towns during June. The month of June is an opportunity to show your support for the LGBT members of your community whether they are customers or not. By celebrating pride in your business you can let your customers and the community you serve know that you believe in unconditional love for both pets and people everywhere.

Creating a unique shopping experience and building customer loyalty is the most surefire way to beat out big box stores and online retail giants. You can offer insights and advice to pet parents that they can't get anywhere else and by doing this you offer a more personalized shopping experiencing. Manufacturer frequent buyer discounts paired with your own rewards program is another great way to improve the customer experience and grow customer retention. Research shows that acquiring new customers can cost 5x more than retaining current customers and by increasing retention by just 5 percent through customer loyalty programs you can boost revenue by 75 percent. Wow!

This year's Global Pet Expo marked its 15th year and was the biggest event to date. In fact, with just over 352,300 square feet of exhibiting space,1173 manufacturer booths, 1000 new products, and over 30-plus hours of free educational seminars it has just about everything you need to learn and grow your pet retail business. We did the math, and with a total of 29 hours of showtime and approximately 1173 booths to explore that would give the average person roughly 1 minute and 28 seconds respectively at each booth. That is with no breaks at all. No lunch, no sitting, just one booth to the next. It's almost hard to comprehend!

In the fight to compete with online and big box retailers, one of the strongest tools for the independent pet retailer is offering services. A groomer, daycare, training, self-service wash, or boarding will help increase traffic and widen your customer base. However, just getting them in the door doesn’t mean that they will also shop your shelves. There is some work and selling required. So take the time to get your team on board so you can tackle services in your store.

If you’re a pet retailer, you know how confusing the world of pet food can be for your customers. Should they buy canned food, dry food, or fresh food? What about grain-free foods? Should they go raw? The list goes on. You have to keep your finger on the pulse of new pet trends so you can stay ahead of the curve and be the “go to” source for your customers. In the ever-expanding area of pet food, it’s never been more important. According to industry publication, PetFood Industry, we’ll continue to see the humanization of pet food in the coming year. Probiotics, PCR, and preventive foods are just some of the crossover trends that have gone from the human market to the pet market.

One of the biggest threats to a pet's health is dental disease. This common issue among pets can have a very serious impact on their well being. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), 80% of dogs and 70% of cats will develop some form of oral disease by age three. Untreated oral disease can lead to serious conditions such as kidney disease, lung disease, and heart disease. In order to bring awareness to the dental health of our pets, February has been named National Pet Dental Month. Now is your chance to help pet parents improve their pet’s dental health and create good habits for year-round care. 

While it’s not necessary for dogs to perform circus tricks, having good manners is always appreciated. Dogs have to be taught that you don’t want them jumping on people, that the couch isn’t a chew toy, and that sitting in place will earn them praise. Despite what many think, you CAN teach an old dog new tricks, whether the dog is 10 weeks old or 10 years old it is never too late to start training. This is why the Association of Professional Dog Trainers dedicates the month of January to educating pet owners on why dog training is important. Now is the time to be prepared for customers looking for all the tools they need to train their four-legged family members.

The New Year is almost here and as we all settle in for winter, with our own resolutions, why not throw one in for our pets? It’s easy in the pet food industry to forget that fresh is best when it comes to nutrition for ourselves and for our pets. We make resolutions to eat more salads, grab more greens, ditch fast food but what about our companions? Integrating raw foods into dogs and cats’ diets can make a huge difference in their health. Treating the freezer section of your store as an exclusive space, only for those committed to a 100% raw diet is the wrong approach.

Not every small business has the resources or marketing budget that bigger companies have. In fact, I find that most pet retailers are not even sure where to start when it comes to building their brand and telling their story. Even if you have a wealth of ideas you might not have the team to help put things into motion. Because of this, marketing can fall by the wayside as you tend to the more important tasks in your store. Maybe the answer to your marketing troubles is thinking smaller. Besides, sometimes it is the simple things in life that have the biggest impact. 

As we all know the pet industry continues to grow with pet parents spending $69.5 billion on their pets in the U.S. just last year. For many people, their pets are like their children and therefore pet parents now more than ever truly care about what they are feeding their animals. Research shows that 55% of American pet owners are concerned about filler ingredients in pet food, such as grains and meat-by-products which often are not found in alternative pet diets. This concern has made a huge impact on the growth of the alternative pet food market.