For pet retailers that offer grooming, every appointment is another reason for a customer to walk through the door.
That recurring relationship can be valuable for the grooming side of the business, but it can also extend into the rest of the store. A customer who comes in every six or eight weeks to have their dog groomed may also need food, treats, toys, dental care, grooming products, or other essentials during those same visits.
The challenge is making those repeat visits part of the normal customer experience. A few simple changes to the way you schedule, communicate, and manage grooming appointments can help turn occasional appointments into an ongoing relationship with your store.
If a customer knows their dog will need another grooming appointment in a few weeks, there’s little reason to wait until then to figure out when they’ll come back.
Make rebooking part of the checkout process. When the customer picks up their pet, staff can recommend a general timeframe for the next appointment and offer to get it on the calendar.
Grooming is already a recurring service for many pet owners. Data from the Dog Aging Project found that 41% of dogs receive professional grooming. Of those, 58% were groomed 2–6 times per year, while another 29% were groomed 7–11 times per year or monthly.
Getting that next appointment on the calendar gives retailers a chance to make those repeat visits part of the customer's routine.
A customer may know their dog needs grooming regularly, but that doesn't mean they'll keep track of their appointments.
Appointment confirmations and reminders can help keep grooming on their radar while also reducing the chance of a no-show. A simple reminder a few days before an upcoming appointment gives customers an opportunity to confirm, reschedule, or ask questions before the appointment arrives. And it gives you time to fill that appointment slot if the customer needs to cancel.
You can also use follow-up communication to remind customers when their pet may be due for another visit. The timing can vary depending on the pet, the service, and the grooming schedule you've established with the customer.
Grooming is a service where the details matter. The pet's breed, coat, past services, preferences, and special instructions can all affect the appointment.
Keeping that information organized makes it easier for your team to provide a consistent experience from one visit to the next. It also gives staff something useful to reference when a customer returns.
Over time, those details can become part of the relationship your store has with the customer. Your team knows the customer and their pet, remembers what they typically request, and can pick up where the last appointment left off.
Above: Know who's coming into your store. PetStack's grooming tools allow you to personalize every experience.
Grooming can introduce customers to the rest of your store, while your current retail customers may become your next grooming customers.
Someone who comes in for a grooming appointment may pick up treats, grab their next bag of food, or find a new toy while they're already there. Likewise, a customer who regularly shops for food and supplies may decide to try your grooming services because they already trust your store.
There are also smaller opportunities, like recommending a brush, shampoo, dental product, or other item based on what a groomer notices during an appointment. When grooming and retail work together, each side can give customers another reason to keep coming back.
Your loyalty program can extend to grooming, too.
Depending on how your program is structured, customers might earn points from grooming appointments, redeem rewards toward future purchases, or receive offers that encourage them to return. You can also create promotions that connect grooming with products or other services in the store.
The key is keeping the program easy to understand. Customers should be able to see how their grooming visits fit into the larger rewards experience rather than having a separate process to keep track of.
A good grooming experience starts before the groom itself.
Customers should be able to schedule appointments without unnecessary back-and-forth, receive clear confirmation details, and check in and out without a long wait. Your staff should have the information they need when the pet arrives, and the customer should know what to expect at pickup.
Small improvements make a big difference when a customer visits your store several times a year.
This is also where your technology matters. If appointment scheduling, customer information, grooming services, and retail transactions are all being managed separately, your team may spend more time moving information between systems than helping customers.
A POS system with built-in grooming scheduling brings more of that information together, making it easier for your team to manage the appointment and the rest of the customer's visit in one place.
Grooming can generate a steady stream of customer visits, but retailers should look at what those visits actually lead to.
How many customers book another appointment? How often do they return? Are they also making purchases while they're in the store? Which grooming services are most popular? Are certain customers consistently booking while others disappear after one visit?
You don't need an elaborate reporting system to start asking these questions. Even a few basic metrics can show you whether grooming is building repeat business and where there may be opportunities to improve.
For a pet retailer, grooming creates something many other services don't: a built-in reason for customers to come back.
Making the most of that opportunity doesn't require reinventing your grooming operation. Start with the basics: make rebooking easy, communicate with customers between appointments, keep useful pet profile information accessible, and create natural connections between grooming and the rest of the store.
If you're still considering whether grooming makes sense for your pet store, take a look at our guide on Adding Grooming to a Pet Store: What to Know Before You Start.
And if you're already offering grooming, PetStack Plus brings grooming appointments, customer information, loyalty, and retail operations together in one place.
Whether a customer is coming in for a grooming appointment, a bag of food, or shopping online, PetStack Plus helps create a more connected experience.
Reach out to see PetStack in action!