How To Grow Your Online Pet Supply Store

Boy, we love our pets so much that they have become modern household babies. Consequently, this love has birthed a billion-dollar industry, rendering pet businesses essential businesses. And with baby boomers increasingly using the internet as their primary source of information, this sustained pet industry growth has grown well into the digital market, with online pet product sales expected to reach $350 billion by 2027.
 It stands to reason that any business worth its salt should have an online presence. So, with an average conversion rate of 1.47
, how can you grow your online pet supply business to benefit from the growing demand for pets and pet products online?


Know Your Business

Before implementing any strategies aimed at growing your online pet store, you must start with understanding where your business stands. That means assessing your technical, brand awareness, customer satisfaction, and marketing performance.

The goal is to ensure that your online offerings, from the ease of navigating your eCommerce site to the delivery of products, are effortless for the customer. Therefore, check whether your upload speeds are affecting your sales.

Is your online store curated for search engines like Google? Can your customers find you easily on their favorite online platforms? How does the shopping experience you offer make your customers feel?

Would they recommend your site to friends and family? Are you marketing your promotions appropriately, or does it interfere with the shopping experience? Don’t forget the importance of optimization.

Ask these questions to determine your customer value, shopping experience, and technical specifications. Once your analysis is ready, compare your performance with the best-selling online pet stores’ performance.

The comparison should help you determine where you are and give insight into things you can adopt to grow your online pet supply store.


Know Your Market Trends

Apart from pet food and standard pet supplies like grooming tools, there are new interests that create gaps in the market you can quickly fill and grow your online reach. So, if you want to dominate the online market, keep in touch with the new demands of your pet owners.

For example, customized and personalized printed designer pet products are growing in popularity. That is why a website like PupSocks immerses at least $140 million in revenue annually
.

The company made $8 million in revenue within the first 30 days of
 investing in custom design sales through eCommerce. You might not make $8 million within the first month of introducing a new product in your pet supply store.

Still, pet opportunities can expand your reach and sales revenue beyond imaginable measures. And knowing your market trends is an excellent place to start capitalizing on the new niches you can explore in the pet industry.

Take the pet ownership demographics as an example. Where most businesses expect baby boomers to be the most prominent pet supplies shoppers, research disputes this by identifying millennials as the most significant portion of pet owners
.

Therefore, implementing online strategies that meet the millennials where they are is bound to give you more growth than focusing on the baby boomers. For instance, millennials spend more than half the time on social media compared to baby boomers.

Therefore, sharing pet content on your social media platforms, following pet forums on social media, and on popular marketplaces will get you a better lead generation.


Convert Existing To Repeat Customers

Repeat customers are the foundation of any business. Therefore, a big chunk of your energy should focus on converting your existing customers into avid repeat customers. Besides, you will spend six times more trying to win new customers than if you concentrate on retaining your present customers.

Research also shows that existing customers are more likely to spend
 than new customers. So, how do you entice your existing customers to keep purchasing
 from your online supply pet store? Capitalize on the trust the pet owners already have in your business.

For example, create content to help your customers take better care of their pets. Suppose, from your customer data, most customers purchase certain grooming suppliers from your online store. In that case, you can create content with tips on how to use the grooming suppliers.

Add personalized promotions to your content strategy using add-on promotions where you suggest additional products that work well with purchased products. Include a loyalty program for the customers that have purchased from your online store after a period.

An excellent online store to emulate is Petco which offers exclusive products to pet owners in their membership program. The membership also provides exclusive resources and expert support to help with pet wellness issues.


Aim For User Generated Content (UGC)

UGC is the original content your customers post on their social media pages showcasing the products they purchase from your pet store. This could be in the form of pet pictures, grooming supply reviews and testimonials, or cute videos of pets using your suppliers.

Here’s why you need to include UGC as part of your growth strategy
:

So how do you aim for the influential power of user-generated content? You renovate your marketing strategy
 and engage with your customers. For instance, consider using an influencer who is also a pet expert.

Their content is bound to inform, engage, and encourage your customers to purchase your products. Or host events online that speak to your consumers. A pet fashion show, for instance, for your pet apparel, will get customers interested in purchases if advertised correctly.


Take Advantage of Digital Marketing

To grow through digital marketing, you need the right balance between your customer needs, brand objectives, and product types. The digital marketing strategy should also increase sales revenue, website traffic, lead generation, and data quality.

A successful strategy will also improve your website’s user experience and brand awareness. How do you get these outcomes: Start by creating a business culture that offers the best customer service. Being online does not protect you from bad customer service reviews and reputation.

Your impressions, not just the first, must always leave the customer feeling special. Then invest in your online presence. That is, focus on remaining active on social media, take blogging seriously for your website, and list your business on important sites like Google My Business.

Email marketing is also an excellent marketing strategy for promoting your products and events to customers. Advertise where you can and as much as possible, whether through Google or traditional ads, because advertisements will improve your brand awareness.


Erply Can Help

Erply helps you optimize your online pet supply store throughout the supply chain. Therefore, your business will always run at optimal efficiency with Erply’s POS solution. You can also automate your online business using Erply’s eCommerce integrations with platforms like Shopify. Consult with us
 to get this and more from Erply.