What it took to open Paw of the Family
Opening Paw of the Family wasn’t easy for Ryan and his family. Before they could start building a business, they had to make a major personal sacrifice to get it off the ground.
“We actually ended up having to sell our house in order to fund starting the store.”
And once the doors opened, the challenges didn’t stop there. Ryan was new to retail, so there was a lot to learn along the way.
“We didn’t know what we were doing when we first opened.”
As they learned more about running a pet store, they also became aware of some of the day-to-day challenges other independent retailers face. One of those is keeping a physical store and online store in sync.
Product photos, inventory, and sales all have to be managed, and doing that across separate systems can add more work to an already busy day.
“One of the big problems that a lot of stores face is taking pictures, putting them on the website, tracking inventory — and having to track it in two different systems.”
Why Paw of the Family chose eTailPet as their pet store POS
Before opening Paw of the Family, Ryan spent time researching point of sale (POS) systems. He wanted one that could support in-store sales, connect to the pet store’s website, and keep inventory updated in one shared back end.
“It needed to power our in-store sales. It needed to have a website attached to it. It needed to track quantity of inventory — and it used the same back end, so I wasn’t tracking inventory for a website and for our in-store point of sale [separately].”
He found eTailPet through a Google search while looking for exactly that kind of combination software and immediately knew it was the right fit.
“Right off the bat, it was exactly what we were looking for.”
How Paw of the Family got up & running with eTailPet
For a first-time pet store owner working toward a hard opening date, getting the POS system set up correctly was just as important as choosing the right one.
Ryan needed to know what had to be done, when it needed to happen, and how each step would prepare the store for opening day.
eTailPet’s team built a step-by-step plan tied to specific dates, walking Ryan through everything from loading products into the system to setting up card readers.
“They had put together a map that I could logically understand of what we were going to do on specific dates... not a single piece of it was done in the dark.”
That hands-on approach also made it easier for Ryan to get comfortable with the system. Once everything was set up, he found the software straightforward to learn and customize.
“The system was extremely easy to learn and set up. Even being able to add our own custom content is extremely easy.”
How eTailPet keeps online & in-store inventory in sync
Once Paw of the Family was up and running, eTailPet helped Ryan avoid one of the challenges he had been concerned about from the start — managing the website and physical store separately.
With one shared back end, he could manage inventory for both channels without having to enter and update the same information twice.
“eTailPet does all of that for you. Especially even when there’s a new product, you can send requests to their developers, and they will get it into the system for you.”
The shared system wasn’t the only thing that stood out to Ryan.
His favorite feature is the flexibility to customize his website beyond the standard template.
“My favorite feature is being able to add my own custom content. You do have a template for your online website — however, because they allow you the ability to customize, you can make it look however you want.”
Ryan also appreciates how eTailPet listens to feedback from store owners and keeps them informed about what’s changing.
“One of my favorite things about eTailPet is their receptiveness to hear from their customers. They have a board for feature requests... right on your dashboard, you can see all of the releases that have happened over the past couple of weeks, what they’re working on next, what priorities they have. They’re extremely open with the people who work with them.”
How eTailPet grows with pet store owners
For Ryan, choosing a pet store POS system wasn’t just about what it could do when Paw of the Family opened. He wanted a system that would continue to improve as the business grew.
Since launch, he’s seen eTailPet add and update features to make everyday tasks easier for both store owners and employees.
One example is the redesigned sales screen, which makes the checkout process easier for employees to navigate. Ryan also points to booking software that brings in-store shopping, online sales, and appointment scheduling together in one system.
“You can actually have your booking, in-store shopping, and online all in the same system. They just redesigned the new sales screen to make it easier for your employees.”
Those ongoing improvements are part of why Ryan continues to recommend eTailPet to other independent pet store owners.
“Not only would I recommend eTailPet — I have recommended eTailPet to many of the independent pet stores that I talk with to help solve problems together. I would absolutely 10 out of 10, 11 out of 10 recommend eTailPet to any independent pet store.”