Summertime Blues

Listen to this article

Summer is about to begin and with that comes the summer slump. For many pet retailers, this is the beginning of the slowest time of the year for their businesses.

I’ve worked at three different pet stores—two in New Jersey and one in upstate New York. I also worked for a reptile wholesaler in New Jersey for a few years. From those experiences, I know that the summer slowdown is a real thing and it can really eat into the bottom line.

In a lot of ways, it makes sense that summer is the slow season for the pet industry. School is out and the weather is great. It’s the time of the year to garden and do outdoor maintenance. And of course, there are summer vacations. It’s just not the right time of year for most people to get new pets.

So, what can a store owner do?

If I had the answer to that, I’d probably be a successful pet industry consultant. Luckily, this issue has a few ideas that will help you out.

While pet store sales in general drop in summer, the drop in the aquatics department can be abysmal. To help boost your aquatic sales in summertime, turn to this month’s Business Strategies column by RD Webster. He’s got some great ideas on heading off the slump.

One of the great joys of dog ownership is that canine companions can often travel with you. Consequently, to keep sales in the dog department steady through the summer, you may want to feature products for dogs on the go. Maggie Marton’s dog column this month is all about products to make traveling with a dog easier, safer and more comfortable. Also, there are some cool outdoorsy dog products in our New Products section this month.

It may not be as common to travel with cats as it is with dogs. However, there are plenty of cats who go outside. Sandy Robins talks about some products just for these felines in her column.

And if your store really caters to bird, reptile, or small animal owners? Maybe tell the owners to go on vacation and hire yourself out as a pet sitter.

Happy summer, everyone!