Are you looking to start your own online pet store?
With 56% of all households owning at least one pet, America is a nation of pet lovers. Any loving owner wants the very best for their beloved furry friends, and you can be there for them. But the steps needed to get into the online pet store business aren’t always clear.
We are here to help. Read on to learn how to start an online pet business and capitalize on the surging demand for pet supplies.
Find Your Niche
If you want your online pet business to succeed, you need to give people a reason to shop with you. Why should they switch from their normal supplier to your store? Reasons include:
- Lowest prices
- Widest product range
- Best customer service
- Uniqueness no one else has
Choose Pets You Know
If you keep a specific pet, focus on that animal. You know them best, and you’ll be the place to go for specialist items. Your store will suit all their needs and your knowledge will give other owners trust in you. After all, you adore their pet as much as they do.
Decide What Products to Sell
There are a variety of products you can sell, from food and treats to toys or even apparel. Do your market research and narrow down your target customer. Find out what products are current must-haves for them, and focus on them.
Create Your Online Pet Supplies Website
If you have the skills to make it or have budgeted for a professional website designer, that’s awesome! If not, then the next best option is using an e-commerce platform like Shopify and BigCommerce.
They’ll handle all tasks apart from sales and marketing. You’ll have a fully usable online store that your customers can navigate with ease. You pay a subscription, upload your product details, and list your products for sale.
Find Suppliers
Get in touch with wholesale and manufacturer suppliers. But only focus on those that sell the products you want in your store. Shop around and see who can provide you the lowest cost per unit, without sacrificing quality. Consider drop-shipping so you don’t have to keep large amount of stock on hand.
Choose Your Target Audience
Now you know what you are going to do, you need to do your market research to find your customers.
Identify your target market; the people most likely to buy from your store. Find out all about them, including things like:
- Location
- Age
- Relationship status
- Education level
- Type & Number of pets
You can then tailor targeted ads that will give back something of use to those people. You’ll focus the most on those more likely to buy from you, and see more conversions (and profit).
Get Marketing
After you get your online pet store up and running, it’s only the beginning. You can have the nicest looking, easiest to use web store out there. But if people don’t know where to find you, they can’t shop with you.
When you start to sell pet products online, you need to tell your target customers you’re there. And to do this, you need the best marketing plan you can get. Start with things like:
- Blogs
- Forum posts
- Social media
- PPC ads
If marketing seems overwhelming, you can hire E-commerce Digital Marketing Services. They’ll handle the marketing hard work for you.
Starting an Online Pet Store
So, there you have it! Your goal should be the same as the pet owners. To deliver the best experience for their pets. So make sure you get yourself set up right from the start by following these steps. You’ll be on your way to that online pet store of your dreams.
If you found this article useful, be sure to check out our other blog posts.
