How To Start An Online Pet Store: Your Step-By-Step Guide To Starting A Pet Business
Every day, there's a new data point on the rising popularity of pets. And it's not just that we're spending more time with our furry friends; we're also spending more money on them. In fact, 2 out of 3 U.S. households own a pet.
Additionally, Amazon pet food sales reach $1.7B in 2017—a 13% increase over 2016.
The market is expected to grow even more quickly over the next few years, so now is a great time to get in on this trend and start your pet store!
Research the pet product market.🐈🐕
The pet product market is growing, and it's a great business. According to the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO), the North American pet food industry generated $38 billion in revenue in 2018 and is expected to grow another 4% by 2022.
This statistic alone is reason enough to consider starting an online pet store; however, there are many other reasons why this could be the right move for you:
Pets are a significant investment. The average lifespan of domesticated animals has increased from 7 years in 1950 to 15 years today—and that number continues to rise yearly!
With an ever-increasing customer base and a growing interest in caring for pets at home rather than leaving them in shelters, your pet store will likely flourish as long as it provides quality products at fair prices.
Start small, but stay entrepreneurial. You don't need millions of dollars or hundreds of thousands of inventory before opening up a shop.
Starting small allows you more time for research and development with less risk involved if things go wrong early on in your pet business venture's life cycle.
Why pet product sales are skyrocketing
The pet industry is worth billions of dollars, and it's growing at a rapid pace. In fact, the pet industry is expected to grow by 10% every year through 2025.
That growth has come from increased spending by pet owners on their pets: They're willing to pay more for products that are good for their animals' health and happiness.
Pet owners know more about the importance of what they're buying for their pets than ever before. They're looking for higher-quality products that are better suited to their animals' needs, whether those needs include healthy food or toys that stimulate them mentally and physically.
How to create you business plan for an online pet store
In business, it's important to work on long-term goals rather than short-term profits. An online pet store should have a business plan that outlines where your company is headed and how you plan to get there.
A good business plan will help you set clear goals, prioritize tasks and make decisions as your company grows. Moreover, business plans can be formal or informal documents (like this one), but they all have the same essential elements:
Executive summary
Company description
Products & services description (or "business model")
Marketing plan
Operations management & logistics strategy
Think carefully about your brand identity and personality.
Your brand identity is the total of everything associated with your business. You need to be consistent and feel comfortable representing yourself in this way.
The best brands have a distinct personality, so make sure that you understand who you are as a company, what you stand for, and how these traits align with your ideal customer.
When it comes to creating an online pet store, think carefully about the following:
Who are we? What do we value
How do our pet products or services reflect those values?
What's our mission statement (the goal for our company)?
What do we want people to know about us before they buy anything from us (or even try out our free trial offer)?
Decide on a name for your online pet store. 🐩
This can be one of the most challenging aspects of starting an online pet store, but it's also vital. You want to make sure that people remember your brand and its name and that they can spell it correctly when searching on Google or other platforms.
The most effective way to determine what makes a good name is by brainstorming with friends and family members who do not know your business. Their input will help you come up with ideas from all angles—the only requirement being that it tells people exactly what type of store you're running (e.g., "Pet Store," "Pets," etc.).
If, after this round of brainstorming, nothing seems like a good fit for your brand, then feel free to move on to step two—taking some inspiration from other successful businesses in similar industries as yours.
Another option is to try one of these free business name generators:
✅ Logo.com
✅ Looka
✅ Namelix
What are the most popular pet products?
The next step in determining the products you sell is finding a niche in the pet product market. When starting a new business, it's essential to keep your focus narrow, which means you'll have to choose between selling only dog products or only cat products.
As you're looking for niches, here are some guidelines below.
Too specific: If you sell dog leashes and no one else does (for example), then people aren't going to be able to find your store easily because they don't know what they're looking for without knowing that other companies also sell leashes but specialize in collars instead of leashes (or something similar).
Not specific enough: You want to avoid being too broad with your product selection so that when potential customers search for "dog supplies," all of the results from significant retailers pop up instead of just one company's site like yours does not show up on page one at all when searching for "dogs online shopping."
Too small: You want enough room within each niche so that there are still opportunities left open if someone wants something specific, but everyone else has already filled up their needs with similar services/products available elsewhere.
Where to source your products? I have a few sites for you to check out:
You might also consider creating unique pet products via 3D printing, if you’re so inclined.
Pet product sales statistics in 2022
Global pet market: $261 billion
Global natural pet food market: $22.8 billion
Pet supplement sales grew 116% between 2019 and 2020
What is the expected growth for the pet industry?
It would help to start an online pet store because the market is growing rapidly.
The pet industry is expected to grow 5%-7% per year, with sales reaching $62 billion in the U.S. in 2022 and $75 billion in 2024. By 2026, it's projected to hit $82 billion. The industry has seen steady growth over the past decade.
How to pick an e-commerce platform for your pet store 🛍️
When shopping for a platform, the first thing to consider is whether it’s user-friendly. If you have little experience in e-commerce or coding, then an easy-to-use system will help prevent any trouble with technical issues in the future.
Another important factor is customer service. A good team can help answer questions about how your site works and troubleshoot any problems that may arise as you get started.
Finally, look at integrations with other apps, such as payment processors and shipping companies (if necessary). This will save time and money when setting up your store.
Last, but certainly not least, make sure the platform offers crypto payment integrations.
Think of ways to make your business stand out from competitors.
If you're interested in starting an online pet store, it's crucial to understand that many other businesses like yours exist. If you want to stand out from the crowd, you can do a few things.
Use your expertise. If you have experience with animals or their care, this is something that will make your business more unique and valuable than competitors who don't have that background.
You can also utilize this knowledge when deciding which products to sell and how they should be presented on your website or social media pages.
Offer services beyond selling products online. For instance, if customers are ordering pet food at a higher cost than they would at a local retailer's store price but also getting free shipping as part of the deal (which most online retailers do), then offer additional services such as grooming or training classes at discounted rates.
Why? Well, so people who buy from them don't feel like they're paying too much extra just because they went through an online source instead of going into town themselves.
You could also offer free samples with every purchase, just like Costco does. Hence, buyers know exactly what quality their money is paying for before making purchase decisions about different brands/types within each category based on personal preference/price point considerations versus how well-manufactured goods were made (or not).
Test your products with customers to ensure they meet your and your customers' standards.
Test with friends and family.
Test on pets, if you have any.
Test the product out on yourself, or have someone else test it if you can't be there at the time of testing (which is probably a good idea).
If your product passes all of these tests, it should be ready for market!
Register your business, get an Employer Identification Number (EIN), and a business bank account.
Register your business with the state and get an Employer Identification Number (EIN). To do this, visit this page on the IRS website.
Open a business bank account. You'll need to choose a good-standing bank with a low rate of fraud and identity theft so you don't have to worry about any issues later on down the road.
It also needs to be somewhere near where you live or work so that it's easy for you to make deposits when necessary (and where there are no fees for doing so). In addition, having a business bank account makes it easier for you when tax season comes around.
Further, make sure your business has all its licenses before opening day. Licenses vary depending upon location but may include obtaining permits from local authorities and paying taxes at both state and federal levels within seven days after starting operations (though some states require longer turnaround times).
Check online or contact your city hall office directly if unsure.
Pet owners are willing to spend big bucks on their pets.
Pet owners are more likely to spend more on accessories than clothes for themselves.
U.S pet owners will spend $1,480 a year on their dog and $902 on their cat. That's pretty high, considering that most Americans spend around $161 each month on clothing.
To summarize🐶
The pet industry is booming and shows no signs of slowing down. This may be it if you're looking for a new business idea. Further, the market is wide open for entrepreneurs who want to cater to the growing demand for high-quality pet products.