The New Year is officially here, and the pet industry is continuing to rapidly grow and expand. 2020 is expected to be the biggest year in pet retail yet, and we are excited for what is to come. Check out our 6 projected trends for pet retail in 2020!
Humanization
In almost every industry, consumers appreciate brands that tell a story, and this will continue to be a major trend in the pet industry for 2020. Consumers choose brands and retailers that feel friendly, engaging, relatable, and not robotic. As the trend of pet humanization (where pets are considered part of the family) grows, pet parents are drawn to brands and retailers that are transparent and trustworthy when shopping for their pet’s food and wellness. There are so many ways that you can make your business feel more humanized and personable. Here are just a few:
Showcase Your Staff: Choose an employee of the month, or share fun facts about employees and their pets! Help your customers get to know your staff and build trust between them.
Get Involved: Team up with a local animal shelter or animal-related charity. You can even take it a step further and allow your customers to get involved with you, by offering to match their donations made in-store, or host an interactive event with a local shelter.
Engage on Social Media: Make sure you’re marketing your social channels in-store! Access free digital pet content (designed and curated by us!) on Endless Marketing, and start sharing with your customers! Giveaways on social media will continue to be popular in 2020, so make sure to check out our Contests & Giveaways campaign!
Conscious Shopping
We all know that the pet care and food industry trends mimic those of humans. As health, wellness, and environmentally friendly products are becoming the norm for humans, pet parents are looking for those types of products for their pets. Whether a consumer is looking for products that are eco-friendly, sustainable, organic, or all natural, in 2020, shoppers will pay a premium for products that support what they believe in. There are so many products that fall into these categories, from CBD for wellness, to recycled plastic and eco-friendly toys, and organic and all-natural treats. Make sure that you market these correctly in-store and on your website, so that your customers can easily find and learn more about these specific products!
DCM
In 2019, the pet industry was disrupted with grain-free pet foods being linked to DCM, or Dilated Cardiomyopathy. Regardless of your stance on DCM, having both grain-free, and grain-in food options for your customers will be very important in 2020. Instead of taking a one-sided approach, giving your customers options with your product assortment will help maintain the trust that they have in your business. Champion and Taste of the Wild are great brands to check out for grain-in foods, and they are available in the Endless Aisles catalog. While some customers will seek advice and guidance from their veterinarians, offering discounts on food is a great way to be sure that they continue to shop at your store.
We have an awesome Grains Galore campaign on Endless Marketing with posts that explore the positives of grain-in pet food. Check it out and start sharing here
Auto-Ship
An already growing trend for many industries in 2020 is auto-ship or auto-replenishment services. These services allow customers to receive their orders in predetermined intervals automatically, typically every one to three months. By removing the need to have to go through the re-ordering process, you can save time for your customers, and often money, as many auto-ship programs offer the products at a small discount. This is a highly appealing service to customers in urban areas, who don’t have a car to transport bags of pet food, or the space to store them.
Although auto-ship requires work on the retailers end, it can lead to consistent order volume, and immediate success. The top performing accounts on Endless Aisles not only offer auto-ship to their customers, but rely on it for a huge part of their order volume. Auto-ship makes up approximately 42% of the order volume for two top performing retailers on Endless Aisles, so they consider it a very important part of their business.
If you’re interested in learning more about auto-ship, we recommend using the Bold Recurring app in Shopify.
Buy Online, Pick Up In-Store
Buy online, pick up in-store, commonly referred to as BOPUIS, is one of the fastest growing current trends that will continue to thrive in 2020. BOPUIS allows customers to place orders on their computers, or mobile devices, pay online, and pick up in-store. This saves busy customers time and allows them to shop on the go, on their own time. As convenience becomes more and more important to consumers, this will be a must-have for retailers. BOPUIS is a great way to kickstart merging your brick and mortar with online capabilities.
Interested in Buy Online, Pick Up In-Store? We have a solution for you!
Endless Aisles® Lite allows you to use the Endless Aisles catalog on your Shopify store to publish your best selling brands, all the items you carry, or just a few of your top selling products. Offer convenience to your customers and allow them to shop whenever and wherever, and pick-up in store.
Learn more and get started here
Trust in Reviews
Customer reviews are becoming more and more influential in purchasing decisions, and in 2020, reviews will hold the power. 72% of consumers don’t take action until they have read reviews, and 93% of consumers use reviews to determine if a local business is good or bad. Reviews build trust in both products and businesses. The trust center for pet care is no longer just from veterinarians and retailers, as consumers are highly valuing the opinions of other consumers.
Adding reviews to your business strategy is a no-brainer for 2020. A great way to get started is to ask your customers for reviews! 7 out of 10 customers will leave a review when asked to do so. You can ask them via email, on social media, or in-store. Once you get some great reviews, showcase them! 83% of consumers think a business with a review on their landing page is trustworthy.
To learn more about reviews, check out The Importance of Reviews and How to Encourage Them
We hope these 6 projected 2020 trends for pet retail bring you success this year!
*All stats sourced from G2.com