Facility
dog toys, treats, and food with a yellow background
'Are You Ready To Add Retail?'

By Eve Molzhon

Blue dropcap digital image of the letter T he question of whether to add retail or not to add retail is a heavy one. It takes space and a lot of time to research what products you want to have, and also time in maintaining inventory and placing orders. Businesses can make their retail area as big and bold or as small and quaint as they desire.

One key thing to think about is how close other animal retail stores are to your business. If there are a couple of big-box stores within a few minutes of your facility, maybe shift your focus to more unique or local, homemade items. If there isn’t a box store within 15-20 minutes, you can try offering some more generalized items. This will label your business as more of a convenience since the client is already coming to you for daycare or boarding services for their pet, so giving them the option to also buy food, treats, etc. from you makes your business their onestop pet place.

It’s not necessary to carry 20 different kinds of dog food. One or two brands that your business personally utilizes and endorses are good to have. Offering both small bags and large bags is beneficial. The small bags can be sold to somebody who accidentally forgot their dog’s food when they dropped them off for boarding, and the big bags are what recurring clients are going to purchase from your business because your business has endorsed that brand as an animal expert and it’s convenient to buy when they pick their dog up from daycare or boarding.

If your facility doesn’t have room for dog food, then you may consider offering bones. (Dogs always need those for their boarding stay.) Some durable, tough toys are also a good idea. Or, if your facility is near a body of water, floaty toys would be good. But remember, you don’t need to buy 50 of them; buy five to sell and see how they go. Gauge your retail space based on the sale of the product.

Doggie seatbelts are another great seller because everybody has driven with their dog in the car to come to your business. Various leashes of different sizes and widths are also a nice product to offer because if somebody forgot their leash at home and needs to bring the dog in for daycare or boarding, they can buy one on the spot. Similarly, if the pet parent is waiting for your employees to bring their dog out at pick-up, they see that leash that’s so much better than the one they already have and must buy it. Collars are the same type of retail sale. Having a variety of collars that your business would recommend utilizing or some cute, fun ones always seem to be great sellers in a retail area.

dog treats in a bag next to dog treats in a clear jar
"IF YOUR FACILITY OFFERS DOG TRAINING"

it’s always a good idea to promote the things that your trainers would use in a training class, such as treat pouches, clickers and certain types of treats.

If your facility offers dog training, it’s always a good idea to promote the things that your trainers would use in a training class, such as treat pouches, clickers and certain types of treats. If your business is located in an urban area, another idea would be to provide safety items for clients such as pet correct or ultrasonic devices, so if someone is walking their pet and an unleashed dog comes running up, your business helped provide your clients with tools for their safety.

The next part of retail is determining your supplier(s). Amazon is great to buy just one item, and sometimes they do offer bulk discounts, but it’s also good to search Amazon or elsewhere to find the actual seller of the item and maybe reach out to them directly. There are several wholesale companies that work with our industry; however, most of them do have minimums, meaning a minimum amount (typically around $500) must be ordered or your business will have to pay shipping fees.

Retail usually takes a good six months to a year before taking off simply because people are used to buying their products somewhere else.

Finally, there is the accounting part of it. Make sure to have a dummy account in your business’s point-of-sale (POS) system called something like “retail.” Then make sure to have each of your retail items listed within the POS program. This will help to track what’s been a good seller. Your business doesn’t have to necessarily itemize every single little thing; you could certainly clump some types of items together. Again, as long as your facility doesn’t have a huge retail space, it’s pretty obvious when you’ve sold three of something when you had five to start with.

Retail usually takes a good six months to a year before taking off simply because people are used to buying their products somewhere else. So, now they need to get into the habit of buying them from your business. Don’t be too discouraged and just stay the course. It’ll all work out in the end.

Eve Molzhon is the creator and owner of Dog Handler Academy. Dog Handler Academy is a 100% online, automated employee training program designed specifically for dog daycares and boarding facilities. Our real-life daycare videos and online quizzes fast-track your new hires into understanding dog handling and care, saving you time and money. Courses cover basic and advanced dog handler skills, social cues and safety, client relations, and more. The mission of Dog Handler Academy is to provide employers training new hires with comprehensive material in a cost-efficient, consistent, and effective program. Our end goal is to create better handlers within our industry to ensure the proper care of animals.

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