If a small pet shop opened in your neighborhood, what would get you to shop there instead of the local PEtsmart, Petco etc? This shop would carry small animals, and puppies and kittems from local breeders(not Puppymills).
*I'm going anonymous because people I know may read this and I'm hoping to open a shop soon, but haven't spoken a word about this as of yet*

By Crystal915 on Monday, January 30, 2006 - 11:33 pm:

Variety, and prices. Things for "unusual" pets, that you might not find in a big chain. Honestly, the things I buy from the local pet stores are high quality litters for small animals, little jackets and sweaters for our small dog, and vitamins for our sugar gliders. Then again, with the selection on the internet, I can usually order them cheaper (including shipping), and find better products. Good luck with whatever you do!

By Tink on Monday, January 30, 2006 - 11:35 pm:

LOTS of advertising! I think the biggest reason I shop at PetSmart is because I know where it is, what it carries, and the hours it is open. I think you need to make a big deal about not carrying puppies and kittens from mills and even have testimonials from the breeders that you choose to use. Maybe have a "Meet the Breeders" afternoon so that there is a real person behind the business. Super clean, well-lit, large inventory of or easily ordered supplies, employed by friendly, knowledgeable employees.

Yikes, I didn't realize I had such an opinion on pet shops! Good luck!

By Missbookworm on Tuesday, January 31, 2006 - 12:41 am:

I only shop at the small independent pet shops in my neighbourhood!

My main reason is customer service (friendly, knowledgeable staff) and the prices are reasonable, although I don't know compared to the other stores because I have never shopped at them lol

That being said I think another reason I do is that I live in a neighbourhood that is like a small city inside a BIG city and I don't drive and the other stores are all quite far from me.
I also don't shop online so I think that influences my decision to a point too.

Really though for me it is a lifestyle choice. I prefer to shop in ALL the small places that are independently owned. It's important to me to buy locally (canadian) products as much as I can and to support the littler guys. I buy all my produce and the majority of my other groceries in the smaller stores too.

I agree with the things Tink said are important "Super clean, well-lit, large inventory of or easily ordered supplies, employed by friendly, knowledgeable employees."

I don't have a dog or cat now I only have a fish but I buy everything I need for him at a small local store.

By Reds9298 on Tuesday, January 31, 2006 - 07:04 am:

The small independent shops in my city are dirty and the animals don't look healthy. That makes it really easy for me to go to Petsmart!

It would have to be comparable in price without a doubt, clean, friendly, and convenient with regard to stock. I can get ANYTHING I need for my dogs at Petsmart, so it's a one-stop deal. That's really important.

By Kaye on Tuesday, January 31, 2006 - 07:20 am:

We have a petco near here and it is dirty and smelly. As long as you were close I would be there We do actually drive quite a way out of our way to buy fish from a small place. Their expertise in the fish wins us over. They have a nice selection and the fish are VERY healthy.

By Conni on Tuesday, January 31, 2006 - 07:47 am:

We have a small shop in our downtown area and i like it! As it is now I have to drive 20 minutes to the nearest petsco store. When I go to petsco they do have a wider selection. However, I can get the same things I need at this store in town and not drive all the way to Fayetteville. The lady will order it for me if she doesnt have it on hand. I like how personal and friendly the sales people are. They want to know all about my animals and suggest items that I might not have thought of for them. I like that it is small enough blake can go 2 aisles over and check out the birds and I can still see him. lol He talks the ladies ear off too and she loves him. It is not a super fancy store. in fact from the outside it looks like a feed store or something. Plain building. Some things I still go to Wal-MArt for and I did buy my leather leash at the vet office, because i dont think they had them at the pet store downtown.

Anyhoo, I do like to shop locally as much as possible and keep the cash flow in my community. lol I am a wierdo I know. Good luck to you!! I love the idea of starting your own business!!! My sister and I talk about this all the time lately. (starting our own business of some type- not opening a pet store)

By Karen~moderator on Tuesday, January 31, 2006 - 10:06 am:

Obviously prices of merchandise would be a concern, and unfortunately many smaller businesses have to charge more for the same merchandise simply because they do not do the volume the larger, chain stores do. That said though, they DO tend to offer more *specialty* items.

A huge reason I'd shop at a small, neighborhood store is the personalized service you tend to get. And the fact that I just like to support those smaller, individually owned businesses.

As was said above though, advertising is a must. And I totally agree with Tink's post above.

OH - and cleanliness makes a HUGE impression on me.

Another thing I've noticed about small pet shops in particular, since we have one near us, is that if they don't have something you want, or if you are having a problem, etc. with your pet and are unsure of what to use, they are more willing to attempt to order/get information or products for you than Petsmart or Petco.

So, that's my two cents......

By Mommmie on Tuesday, January 31, 2006 - 10:22 am:

We've had two small pets stores open and close here in the last couple of years. They had very little business. Between cheapy Wal-Mart and the big box pet stores I guess it's hard to compete.

By Colette on Tuesday, January 31, 2006 - 10:44 am:

I always try to support small businesses instead of big chains. I don't shop at places like Walmart or Home Depot unless it's a last resort. I've seen Home Depot drive out our little hardware store that we had in town. The trouble with supporting smaller businesses is that they usually - but not always - are more expensive than the chains. I don't mind paying the extra $ but a lot of people do.

By Shellyg on Tuesday, January 31, 2006 - 10:59 am:

My opinion, take it or leave it, would be to boycott it.
There is no need to sell, buy, breed, whatever any more animals. I am tired of animals being killed at the shelter for no reason.
On the other hand if you were NOT to sell animals or better yet, work with a local rescue group doing adoptions. I would be your first customer.

By Crystal915 on Tuesday, January 31, 2006 - 11:09 am:

Another things is knowledgable staff. If you don't know about a particular animal that a customer has, be willing to learn. I've gone into some small pet stores where they had NO idea what I was talking about, and others who either knew, or were willing to learn for their customers.
As for Shelly's point, I too prefer stores that support adoptions. One of our local shops gives AWESOME coupons to the shelter to give to new adopted parents. Free bags of food, free chew toys, etc, depending on the breed. They also feature animals from the shelters. They do sell a few exotics, like birds and rabbits, but not dogs and cats, and the animals they sell are in nice spacious cages, well cared for.

By Boxzgrl on Tuesday, January 31, 2006 - 11:30 am:

Honestly, most people go to PetSmart and PetCo because they don't even want to see the puppies and kittens caged up. Whether it be because of personal feelings or not wanting to feel suckered into buying one. I think that will be your biggest obstacle to overcome. You may get more customers if you made an agreement with the shelter to help sell their animals like PetCo does so people don't feel like they're contributing to the breeding and overpopulation of animals.

Another thing to consider to bring in customers would be to hire a groomer on site. You get customers for that and they also tend to start buying all their pet supplies there because of the convenience.

Focus on a specialty item. Most pet fanatics are into the "natural" products right now just as we are into organics for ourselves.

Carry a lot of pampering products. Sweaters, foo-foo nail polish, hair clippings. Pocket pets are popular right now.

Know your pet knowledge. Customers come back because they feel they can trust you and your knowledge. And my biggest pet store pet peeve, steer people away from Hartz flea control! There are so many deaths associated with it. It irks me that they are still in business.

By Anonymous on Tuesday, January 31, 2006 - 02:28 pm:

Thanks for all of the advice. This has been a dream of mine for a long time and I am going to go with it. I have no problem having adoption days from local rescue groups. I am all for it. I just want a place where people and their pets feel welcome and are able to find unusual things that meet their pets needs!

By Alberobello on Tuesday, January 31, 2006 - 03:51 pm:

I don't have any advice, but good luck darling! i really hope goes well for you. Nowadays it seems impossible for small shop owners to survive with all the big chains buying really cheap and selling really cheap so the small business go bankrupt. I've seen it many times and it's really sad.

Good luck anyway!

By Karefl on Tuesday, January 31, 2006 - 04:46 pm:

High quality premiun foods & treats. I drive 30 minutes now to get a high quality food for our Golden Retriever. He has infrequent siezures & I find that they happen less often when he's on a premium food & treats. So I make the drive. I also look for natural products (shampoos & such) in an effort to avoid to many chemicals on him.

By Groovepickle on Tuesday, January 31, 2006 - 05:06 pm:

I agree with bringing in a groomer, and make it special like a groomer who will also paint your dogs toenails, not just the typical throw a bandana around the dogs neck.
Get to know your customers, hold a grand opening and occationally a workshop, like "What pet would best suit your household etc..."
Have one kid friendly specialty pet there. There was a small pet shop near my house and they had a pet turtle who ruled the place. My husband and I would go there just to see the turtle and end up buying some new toy or treat for our bird.
Oh and Keep the place clean! I never buy from a store that smells bad.
Groove
Good luck!

By Dawnk777 on Tuesday, January 31, 2006 - 06:40 pm:

Foods like Canidae, Innova, Solid Gold, California Natural would be nice. Also, NO puppymill puppies. We recently stopped going to a local pet store, since they getting puppies from the Hunte Corporation. Ugh.

Compressed rawhides in bulk, since it's nice to just buy one or 2, for Jasmine.

By Heaventree on Tuesday, January 31, 2006 - 06:52 pm:

The things I would look for are convenience in terms of proximity to my home, clean establishment, proof that your animals are not from a mill (maybe post a sign), novelty items, things you can't get at the chain stores. I bought a nice red leather collar for Indy that had wonderful stainless steal flowers on it. I think I paid $25 or $30 for, I loved and so did she, she ate it! I bought a hammack for the cat. Also, friendly, good service. I hate it when you walk into a store and you are ignored or even worse followed around like you are going to steal something. I would also look for quality brand pet food like Science Diet, Iams etc.

Grooming service for cats as well as dogs would also be a plus for me as I need to get my kitties claws cut on a regular basis.

You could also give your new customers a coupon or 1st time discount, kind of a good will gesture or they could perhaps pick a small toy for their animal after a purchase like a ball for a cat for example. If people leave the store feeling good about their experience there, they are likely to come back.

Everyone loves freebies, contact your pet food distributor they may publish a free magazine for pet owners and you could have this to give to your customers. Our vet always has one and I love them. Or once you are up and running, you could publish a monthly newsletter so people have something to look forward to when they come in.

One last thing, perhaps a bulletin board so people could post services like boarding, lost animal notices, and services like obedience training.

Good Luck!