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Small businesses thrive when they have loyal customers.
In the pet industry, customers must make frequent purchases to keep their furry friends fed, groomed, and happy. They prefer to get all the supplies they need from the same place — but only if they find relevant, high-quality pet products at prices they can afford. To run a successful pet store, you need to meet these expectations so you can earn their loyalty.
A great way to encourage repeat business is to introduce a loyalty program. These programs incentivize customers to choose your pet store by offering periodic rewards for purchases. These might come in the form of free products, exclusive items, or discounts.
In this blog, we’ll cover how to manage pet store loyalty programs and the tools you need to get started — including the five best loyalty program software solutions for your industry.
Let’s dive in.
Types of Loyalty Programs
While all loyalty programs operate with a similar premise, there are a variety of ways they can be set up.
Here are a few examples:
- Points system: In this format, a customer earns points with each purchase they make, and these points can be redeemed for rewards.
- Tiered levels: A loyalty program can also be organized into tiers. Customers are placed into levels based on the volume of purchases they’ve made. The higher the tier they attain, the greater the discounts and rewards they receive.
- Subscription-based program: With this setup, customers pay a certain amount per month to receive specific products or services, and in return, gain access to discounts or bonus items available only through the subscription.
Special pet diets or routine grooming deals work well on a subscription basis. Another option is a new pet starter program to help first-time owners get everything they need.
Related Read: A Guide to Loyalty Rewards for Pet Stores
Set Your Pet Store Apart
Many pet stores offer loyalty programs, including big-box retailers like PetSmart and Petco. Because your customers have many choices, it’s important to emphasize what makes yours unique. Focus on personalized service and the value of supporting local businesses to make your loyalty program stand out.
Strive to create a sense of community among your program’s members. As customers get to know you and fellow members — and enjoy positive experiences — they’re more likely to become long-term, loyal shoppers.
Consider designing your program to include multi-pet households. Owners with multiple pets buy larger quantities of pet supplies, and by offering extra points or exclusive rewards, you encourage them to make these purchases at your store — rather than at a major chain or online vendor. This shows pet owners that you understand their unique needs, too.
How To Choose the Right Rewards
Your loyalty program can only be successful if you offer significant rewards worth working toward. You may offer free products, like a complimentary bag of dog food, collar, toy, or grooming tool when you spend a specific amount or earn a set number of points. In addition to free merchandise, rewards can include discounts — like 50% off purchases over a given total.
Some businesses give customers free items on their birthday, and pet stores can take this a step further by celebrating a pet’s birthday or adoption date. You can collect this information during sign-up, then surprise the pet with a free pack of treats or a small gift when it’s their special day.
You can also offer seasonal rewards that change throughout the year. For example, feature tick and flea-preventative products as incentives during the warmer months.
Related Read: 7 Types of Pet Services Your Retail Store Should Offer
How To Manage Your Pet Store Loyalty Program
Before you launch your program, it’s important to consider a few key logistics. First, you need a way to calculate and track your customers’ points, tiers, or subscriptions. Fortunately, many digital tools and point of sale (POS) systems can handle this automatically. If you sell through e-commerce, integrate your loyalty program with this channel so customers can earn and redeem points both in person and online.
Once your loyalty program is up and running, you may choose to set expiration dates on points or rewards to encourage customers to redeem them sooner. If you take this approach, be sure to clearly communicate the policy to your customers.
Train your employees to accurately manage and redeem points so customers enjoy a seamless loyalty experience without delays and confusion. The better the customer experience, the more likely they are to stay engaged with the rewards. Remind your team to actively promote your loyalty program to boost memberships.
Related Read: Pet Store Cash Flow Management: 7 Tips for Surviving Slow Months
5 Best Pet Store Loyalty Programs
Most comprehensive POS systems offer built-in loyalty tools, and integrate with independent solutions. Let’s look at our top five loyalty program picks for pet stores.
Related Read: The Benefits of Having an All-in-One POS System for Your Pet Store
5. Shopify
Shopify is a general POS platform with an extensive app store that can expand its features.
Top features: Shopify’s app store gives you access to a variety of loyalty rewards programs. This allows you to choose a program that suits your business needs. Shopify also tracks useful information about loyalty members.
Pricing: Each app has individual pricing.
4. Square
Square is a widely-used POS system with a simple, intuitive interface that has a customizable rewards program.
Top features: With Square, you can offer rewards based on customer purchases and run limited-time or recurring promotions. Customers can also be assigned to customizable VIP tiers. Membership is tied to their phone number, and they can add a membership card to their digital wallet.
Pricing: Square loyalty plans start at $45 per month per location, plus the cost of the system itself.
3. LoyaltyLion
LoyaltyLion is a stand-alone loyalty program software provider. It can be integrated with Shopify or used alongside a POS system.
Top features: You can reward customers for completing surveys, and offer free products, discounts, or free shipping as rewards.
Pricing: Plans start at $199 per month.
2. Astro Loyalty
Astro Loyalty is a rewards program designed for independent pet stores that can be integrated with some POS systems.
Top features: Astro Loyalty allows you to reward customers for purchases, including pet adoptions. It also comes with communication tools to help you connect with customers through SMS text, email, and social media marketing.
Pricing:
Astro Offers: Free
Astro Frequent Buyer: $50 per month
Astro Custom Programs: $20 per month
Astro Points Platform: $20 per month
Astro Marketing: Custom price
1. eTailPet
eTailPet is a cloud-based POS solution designed specifically for pet stores, with both general retail and pet-specific features.
Top features: eTailPet offers a native loyalty program and integration with Astro loyalty, so you can choose what works best for your store. Give customers exclusive, members-only discounts and promotions, while using subscriptions to generate recurring revenue. With eTailPet, you can track rewards and easily apply them at checkout.
Pricing: Request a custom quote.
Launch Your Pet Store Loyalty Program With eTailPet
Pet store loyalty programs help you retain your best customers by offering them extra value. Effective ones are easy to understand and deliver significant rewards that motivate customers to keep coming back. To manage these programs, you need software built into your POS system that tracks customers and their points for you.
eTailPet is an all-in-one POS solution designed for pet stores. With both a native loyalty program and seamless integration with Astro Loyalty, you have multiple options that allow you to tailor your program to your customers.
Our cloud-based software also offers a full suite of both general and pet-specific features, like inventory management, payment processing, e-commerce, and access to online pet suppliers.
To see what eTailPet can do for your pet store, schedule a demo today!
