Loyalty Programs for Pet Shops

By Alva Chew · Updated 2026-11-05

In short A pet store loyalty program works best as points earned in proportion to spend, because a pet shop sells a US$4 treat and a 30-pound bag of food at the same till. Pet food is bought again and again, so size the first reward to land within two or three refills. Keep the counter step to one scan, and use one points balance if you run more than one store.

What should a pet store loyalty program reward?

Reward spend, at every size. A pet shop sells small items such as treats and toys, regular refills such as food and litter, and the occasional large purchase such as a crate, a tank or a bed. Points earned in proportion to spend count all of them with one rule. A loyalty program then gives the owner who buys food from you every month a running reason to keep doing it, instead of adding it to a supermarket or online order.

Pet owners come back for the same products on a predictable cycle, which is a good fit for points. The balance grows with each refill, and the customer can see the next reward getting closer.

How big is pet retail in the US?

Large, and food is the biggest part of it. The American Pet Products Association (APPA) publishes the industry total each year.

Measure	Figure
US pet industry spending, 2024	US$158 billion
Pet food and treats	US$68.3 billion
Vet care and product sales	US$41.0 billion
Supplies, live animals and over-the-counter medicine	US$34.4 billion
Other services	US$14.3 billion
US households that own a pet (2025 National Pet Owners Survey)	95 million

Source: American Pet Products Association, Industry Trends and Stats, read 5 November 2026. The page also shows a 2026 projection of US$165 billion, which is a forecast and not a measured figure.

Food and treats are about 43% of the total (our arithmetic from the table, US$68.3 billion of US$158 billion). That matters for your points rate. The largest category is the one people buy again and again, so your most frequent baskets are food baskets.

How much does a household spend on pets?

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics measures this from a household survey. These are averages across all US consumer units, so they describe the market and not your sales.

Measure (US, per household, 2024)	Figure
Average annual spending on pets	US$880
Share of total household spending	1.1%
Pets, toys, hobbies and playground equipment (wider group)	US$1,069
Number of consumer units	135.8 million

Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Expenditure Surveys 2024, Table 1203, read 5 November 2026.

An average pet household spends about US$880 a year, or roughly US$73 a month, split across every place it buys from (our arithmetic). Your share of that is what a program can grow. A customer who moves their monthly food purchase to you is worth more than one who buys a toy once.

How do you set points for a pet shop basket?

Start from your average basket and how often customers return. A shop where owners refill food every few weeks needs a first reward that lands within two or three refills. The examples below use made-up round numbers, so replace them with your own.

Program	Spend to earn	Reward	Back on spend	Customer spending US$40 a visit
1 point per US$1, 100 points = US$5 off	US$100	US$5	5%	3 visits
1 point per US$1, 200 points = US$8 off	US$200	US$8	4%	5 visits
2 points per US$1, 200 points = US$6 off	US$100	US$6	6%	3 visits

Check the percentage against your gross margin before you publish the rule, and keep it fixed once customers know it. Our guide on how to set your points earn rate walks through the arithmetic with your own numbers.

A points-based program suits a pet shop better than a stamp card because baskets vary so much. A US$4 treat and a US$70 bag of food should not earn the same. Stamps need extra rules to cope with that. Points handle it with one.

What happens with returns, food and live animals?

Pet retail has a few edge cases. Decide each one before launch and write it in one line.

Returns. Take back the points earned on the returned amount. If the customer has already spent those points, let the balance go negative and offset the next purchase, or absorb it. Pick one.
Food. Give the same rate as everything else, or set one lower rate for food if margin demands it. Do not add a different rate per brand.
Live animals. Decide whether a fish, bird or small animal earns points. Many shops exclude them and say so on the card terms.
Paying with points. Allow points to cover part or all of a purchase. Decide whether the points-covered portion earns more points. The simplest answer is no.
Services. If you sell grooming or nail trims, give points on the amount paid, the same as goods.

How do you run it at the counter?

The counter step decides whether staff use the program. If it takes more than a few seconds, it is skipped at busy times, and balances then look wrong. A pet shop counter often has a customer holding a leash or a bag of food, so speed matters more than usual.

The customer opens the card on their phone.
Staff scan the code with a phone or tablet already at the till.
Staff enter the amount and the balance updates.

Ask new customers to join once, at the till, with a QR code on the counter. The owner already has their phone in hand to pay.

Can one program cover several pet stores?

Yes, and it matters if you open a second site or a pop-up at a market. A single balance across stores means a customer who earns at one site can redeem at another. A program that treats each store as separate splits your customers across it. Check how your software charges as you add stores. Our guides to loyalty programs across multiple outlets and loyalty software without per-location fees cover both questions.

How do you know it is working?

Track the repeat purchase rate of members against non-members for a few months from your own sales data. Do not rely on figures from other shops or from software vendors, because baskets, margins and refill cycles differ. For other shop formats, see our page on loyalty programs for retail shops.

Pet shop checklist

Give points in proportion to spend, on all purchases or a short named exclusion list.
Size the earn rate to your average basket and refill cycle, and check it against margin.
Write one-line rules for returns, live animals and food before launch.
Keep the counter step to one scan.
Use one balance across every store.
Measure member and non-member repeat purchases from your own sales data.

Gimify is free for one outlet with unlimited members and no time limit. Customers join by scanning a QR code and entering their email, the card lives in Google Wallet, and staff add or redeem points on any phone. If your pet shop grows to several stores, unlimited outlets are US$99 a month with one points balance across them.

Questions owners ask

What is the best pet store loyalty program?

A points program in which customers earn points in proportion to what they spend and redeem them against a later purchase. One rule covers a bag of treats and a large bag of food, and staff and customers need no training.

How many points should a pet shop give per dollar?

Pick a rate that returns about 3% to 5% of spend as reward value, then check against your gross margin. With 1 point per US$1 and 100 points for US$5 off, that is 5% back. Food margins are usually thinner than accessory margins, so test the rate on your own basket.

Should pet food earn the same points as toys and accessories?

Simplest is the same rate on everything. If food margins force a lower rate, keep the exception to one named category and print it, because every exception is another rule customers have to learn.

Can a loyalty program work across several pet stores?

Yes. With one points balance across outlets, a customer earns at one store and redeems at another. Check that your software does not charge per location.

Do pet owners need an app?

No. A card that opens from a QR code and sits in Google Wallet works, because the phone is already in hand when they pay.

How should a loyalty program handle returns?

Take back the points earned on the returned amount. Write the rule once, tell staff, and show it on the card terms so a balance never looks wrong to a customer.