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With 86% of pet owners now purchasing products for their pooches online, it’s no surprise that the pet care industry is booming, projected to be worth over $200bn globally by 2025.
Explaining the boom in ecommerce pet products, James Davidson, founder of DTC dog food retailer Tails.com explains: “Just as a mother cares about making sure their child is fed properly and cared for, the same applies to how people think about their pets. And because dogs tend to eat the same food every day, any changes in foods can cause some sort of digestive disruption.”
However, with 3 in 5 pet owners who shop online currently turning to Amazon to purchase their pet products, it’s never been more important for pet care brands to stand out from the crowd and secure the loyalty of both their customers – and their furry friends.
As we delve into this blog post, we’ll explore some of the most innovative loyalty programs in the pet care space, uncovering the common elements that contribute to their success.
Frequently lauded as one of the most innovative loyalty programs in the retail space, Pets at Home has been using its VIP program to build emotional connections with pet owners since 2012.
Their program has gone through many iterations, but there are a few things we particularly love about the program the way it is today.
Firstly, customers are immediately incentivized to join the program – not just because they will receive a 10% off voucher straight away, but also because the Pets VIP Club landing page makes it very clear what other benefits you will be able to access once you are a member.
Speaking of those benefits, one of the key things that Pets at Home does well with its loyalty program is to add the paw-sonal touch. Personalized perks include VIP discounts on specific brands that your pet loves, the ability to send lost pet alerts to the loyalty community should your pet go missing, and free bonus gifts and benefits on your pet’s birthday. These rewards go a long way to creating emotional connections with pet lovers who join the program and feel immediately valued and part of a community.
But what about the Shopify brands that are currently taking the lead when it comes to loyalty? Let’s dig into some of the best pet loyalty programs that are being managed on LoyaltyLion today:
The Edgard and Cooper loyalty program has become something of a poster child for pet loyalty programs in recent years, and there are several reasons why they have earned this reputation.
Firstly, their loyalty program looks amazing. Their loyalty page is fun, engaging, and full of character, so it’s easy to see why they get so many signups.
However, their program does much more than look good – it also does good for the pet community too. One of the most unique features of their program is that customers can opt to redeem rewards in the form of money off their next purchase, or they can opt to redeem rewards in the form of a charitable donation. This can be either planting a tree or donating a doggy dinner to a dog shelter. With this unique feature, Edgard and Cooper are showing customers that they care about the same causes, and providing members with an easy way to contribute to those causes.
The other thing we love about Edgard and Cooper’s program is the way they incentivize data collection to provide the highest level of personalization.
When you join the program, you are asked to create a pet profile that includes questions such as your pet’s name, birthday, breed, and other unique details. Edgard and Cooper then use this information to create more personalized communications and offers that loyalty program members (and their pets!) love and appreciate. And the best part? You’ll get points just for completing your pet profile.
The second pet loyalty program we love belongs to the Natural Dog Company. Another really good-looking loyalty program, the Natural Dog Company has struck a neat balance between easy to use and effective.
What we particularly like about this program, is that they are not operating it in isolation. By offering members points for following their social channels, they are supporting their wider marketing activity and taking advantage of the opportunity to increase their following and reach more future members. We’re particularly big fans of the fact that they offer points for following their YouTube channel – a fantastic way of increasing traffic to content that they put a lot of time and effort into developing.
The second highlight of the Natural Dog Company’s program is its free product rewards. As well as offering percentage discount rewards at different point thresholds, they also offer customers the opportunity to exchange points for free travel-size products such as snout and paw soothers. This is a great way to reward loyalty while also introducing shoppers to new products that they may not have tried before but will return to buy at full size.
Our third and final favorite pet loyalty program comes from Bully Bunches. The best thing about the Bully Bunches program is how well it aligns with its overall branding.
Named the Bully Bucks Rewards Program, it feels like both a community you want to be a part of, and a currency you want to earn and spend.
Bully Bucks can be earned in lots of ways – from signing up for the program to sharing your birthday to leaving a review. And they can be spent in different ways too. Bully Bucks can be redeemed in exchange for money off vouchers, or similarly to the Natural Dog Company, they can be spent on free products such as their own-brand Bully Sticks, or Himalayan Yak chews.
But it’s the Bully Bucks tiers that we love the most. Featuring four tiers, this tiered loyalty program allows you to unlock more and more great perks for you and your pet, the more you engage with the program. Members in the lowest tier who have earned below 750 Bully Bucks can enjoy the rewards already outlined above. However, earn more Bully Bucks and you unlock new tiers, and even more exciting rewards – for example, access to exclusive promotions that lower tier members can’t unlock, and even a yearly free gift in the top tier. This is a fantastic way of incentivizing members to continue shopping at Bully Bunches so that they can keep on collecting Bully Bucks, but also rewarding their loyalty and spend with additional benefits.
We know that ecommerce shoppers love to receive personalized emails, promotions, and advice – so it stands to reason that they’d love hearing about things that are relevant to their pets just as much.
Use LoyaltyLion to help you collect pet data by using loyalty points to incentivize members to either complete a pet profile or take a quiz about their furry friend. They’ll feel heard, and you’ll have all the information you need to reward them with relevant content.
Loyalty program rewards don’t have to be discounts or financial incentives. Instead, use free product rewards that members can redeem in exchange for their hard-earned points.
This is a great way to upsell new products they may not have tried before, but it can also be a fantastic way of shifting old or excess inventory should you need to.
With many pet products available on Amazon, at the grocery store, and larger pet stores, it can be difficult to keep your returning customer rates up. If you’re tired of watching customers drift away after their first purchase, then a loyalty program could be just what you need.
Create your own loyalty program and offer members the opportunity to earn points for multiple activities – whether they are purchasing or not. Award points for social media likes, shares, and follows, for referring friends and family members, for sharing your pet’s birthday, and even for leaving reviews.
The more you can encourage a pet owner to engage in between purchases, the greater their points balance will be when they do run out of their product and need to replenish. If they’ve got enough points to redeem a reward, then it will be a no-brainer and they will be far more likely to return and shop with you to reap that reward, rather than looking elsewhere.
For ecommerce brands in the pet care industry looking to elevate their loyalty programs, solutions like LoyaltyLion can provide lots of opportunities to engage with pet owners and make them feel that you care about their furry friends as much as they do.
If you want to find more ways to increase your returning customer rates then get started by booking a demo today.
