By Scott and Ann Springer
  
While gift certificates contribute to only a small portion of overall sales for most retail pet shops, they may pay dividends for years to come because they help lure new customers and keep existing customers coming back for more.
  
“They are money right back in your pocket,” says Shawna Patton, the owner of Petropolis, a retail shop in Camarillo, Calif.
  
Patton estimates that gift certificates contribute to about 10 percent of sales during the holidays and only 1 percent or 2 percent the rest of the year. 
  
She invests the time in offering gift certificates because she believes it’s a win-win situation for retailers.
        
Why Offer Gift Certificates?
Customers come into retail shops seeking gift certificates and their higher-tech sibling, gift cards, for a variety of reasons. First of all, they are an easy gift for any pet lover. 
  
“The bottom line is that giving one is easy, and you can’t really make a mistake buying one,” Patton says. 
  
It’s also a gift that can be large or small because they can be given in any amount from $5 to $500, she says.

“We don’t put an expiration date on them and they can be used in any of our stores or at the spa,” says Jocasti Brea, a sales associate at The Pet Shop Girls, a retailer in Boston.
  
Second, recipients enjoy receiving them as much as people love to give them.
  
“Everyone is always happy when they present a gift card,” says Melisse LeWeck, owner of Something to Chew On, a retail shop in Laguna Niguel, Calif. “They buy whatever tickles their fancy—anything from clothing to leashes to toys.”
  

Paper or Plastic?

As society has become more electronic and fast-paced, gift cards have taken the consumer world by storm. The pet industry is no exception.    Melisse LeWeck decided to dive into gift cards when she opened her shop, Something to Chew On, two years ago in Laguna Niguel, Calif.    She opted against doing gift certificates because it required some additional busy work and she thought the hard plastic cards would be another method to get her store’s logo out in the community.    “I like to have my logo around where people can see it, and I just thought it would be easier for me than doing gift certificates,” LeWeck says.    LeWeck set up her gift card system through the same company that she pays to have the ability to use credit and debit cards.    Regardless of the method you decide to use to provide gift cards or gift certificates, LeWeck says the important thing is that you offer the service.    “You could use a generic gift certificate and just write each of them out,” she says. “It’s just important that you offer it because it’s a service people are looking for.”                                                                    —A.S. and S.S.

Most customers use gift cards to buy items to spoil their pets instead of buying essentials, such as food or other practical purchases, Brea says.
  
Many of LeWeck’s clients who buy gift cards aren’t even pet owners themselves. 
  
“Their friend or their clients love their dogs but they have no idea what to get them,” LeWeck says.
  
Offering gift certificates is another form of advertising in the community, says Paul Wood, owner of Pet Adventure, a retailer in Poplar Bluff, Mo. “A lot of people come in and say, ‘I never knew you were here.’”
  
While sales of certificates and cards may only contribute to a small percentage of overall sales, Wood and other retailers wouldn’t consider dropping them from their inventory.
  
“Gift certificates are only 1 percent or 2 percent of my overall sales for the year,” Wood says. “But we try to be a full-service retail store, and gift certificates are just one more thing that customers want, so we carry them.”
  
LeWeck agrees that these products should be seen as an added service that builds your business over time.
  
“I really feel that being a small boutique is about building a relationship with the customer,” she says. “There are a lot of things that I do that are a lot of work, but it increases the customers’ commitment to me.”
  
LeWeck has seen sales of gift cards increase by 50 percent since her store opened two years ago, without her putting much effort into promoting them. 
  
“Sales started out slowly, but have increased over time,” she says. 
  
She has recently put a counter mat down near the register to alert customers that she carries gift cards. 
  
“It will increase even more now that it will be right there in their faces,” LeWeck says.
  
Christmas Plans
This Christmas, LeWeck plans to highlight gift cards on her holiday coupon mailer to boost fourth-quarter sales.
  
“I am also putting it on my blackboard as part of a list of good gift ideas,” she says.
  
Patton uses a small sign at the register to let customers know that she offers gift certificates.
  
Dangling laminated gift certificates on a  ribbon from the store’s ceiling has drawn a lot of attention for Wood.
  
“We mostly do in-store promotions of our gift certificates,” he says. 
  
Advertising gift certificates on your store’s website may also remind customers to purchase them year-round for special occasions and holidays, Brea says.
  
The majority of gift certificates redeemed in Patton’s shop are issued to charities that come to her seeking donations, she says.
  
“The certificate either goes to a new customer who then becomes a customer for the remainder of the time or it’s used by a returning customer who spends more than what the gift certificate is worth,” Patton says.
  
She also says it’s rare when someone buys something that matches the amount of the gift certificate.
   
“It’s fun for customers to spend the money because it’s not their money,” Patton says.
   
Posted: Nov. 30, 2006