Pet e-Tailers Prep for Holiday Shopping Season

Lisa Lotito shows off her cause-related apparel for people and pets.

Online pet product retailers are gearing up for the holiday shopping season with promotions, events and special product offerings.

Most notably, Drs. Foster & Smith of Rhinelander, Wis., plans to hold four-hour live webcasts on its DrsFosterSmith.com website on both Black Friday and the following Cyber Monday as it attempts to boost sales during the Thanksgiving shopping weekend.

In addition to programming, the webcasts will offer shoppers with discounts and prizes.
 
Each webcast will begin at 10 a.m. CST and will feature veterinarians answering viewer questions, pet care tips and prize giveaways every 15 minutes. Winners of prizes will also receive 10 percent off purchases added to their prize and free ground shipping, according to Foster & Smith.
 
Elsewhere, pet apparel and accessories marketer Good Paws Good Cause of Trafford, Pa., will be offering custom pet ornaments and holiday cards created by Meg Dooley of Pittsburgh, Pa.-based Finders Keepers Design for the holiday season.

“The addition of the holiday ornaments and note cards will give customers a new way to give back this holiday season,” said Lisa Lotito, founder of Good Paws Good Cause. The holiday items will be available on the company’s GoodPawsGoodCause.com website.

Good Paws Good Cause reports it has donated slightly more than $2,000 since 2009 to charitable groups based on sales of its three main product lines: Fur A Home (supports animal shelters), Fur A Cure (human cancer research), and Fur the Earth (conservation).
 
The product lines, which are available wholesale as well as on the site, includes logoed t-shirts, hoodies, bandanas and pet charms.