Good Company

Independent Pet Retailers Are Down 15.6 Percent in Transactions Since 2024. Services Are the Counterpunch.

eTailPet's State of Independent Pet Retail 2026 says in-store services and community events are bringing foot traffic back to a channel that has lost nearly a sixth of its transactions in two years.

By Good Company Editorial Desk

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The News

eTailPet, a cloud-based point-of-sale provider for independent pet retailers, released its State of Independent Pet Retail 2026 report on October 6, pairing transaction data with survey responses from its customer base. The headline finding is blunt: independent pet retailers have seen a 15.6 percent decrease in overall transactions since 2024.

The report also identifies what the company says is working. Among retailers that added services such as grooming or training, more than 60 percent reported increased foot traffic and 50 percent reported improved customer loyalty. Community events help too: retailers running three or more events, such as adoption events or training classes, credit them with keeping customers: 91 percent versus 59 percent among retailers running none.

"Independent pet retailers have always had an advantage when it comes to personal connection, but as trips to stores have declined, that connection is becoming even more important," said Taylor Harnois, General Manager of eTailPet, in the report announcement. Eighty-seven percent of surveyed retailers said personal connection is essential for maintaining customer loyalty, and that the connection mostly happens in store.

The report also captures how independent retailers are putting AI to work. Social media content leads at 48 percent, followed by marketing copywriting at 33 percent, inventory and demand forecasting at 23 percent, email and SMS campaigns at 22 percent, customer service chatbots at 13 percent, and personalized recommendations at 8 percent.

Why It Matters

The indie channel is redefining itself. Half of surveyed retailers now see themselves as a pet wellness partner who helps owners make informed decisions, while 22 percent describe themselves as a trusted source for pet care advice and 19 percent as a community resource for pet owners. That positioning answers what shoppers say they want: price and ingredient quality (both 75 percent) and nutritional benefits (73 percent) top the food purchase drivers.

Online is not the escape hatch retailers might hope for. Seventy percent of surveyed retailers sell online, but 90 percent report that e-commerce accounts for only about 10 percent of their overall sales. Meanwhile 78 percent see PetSmart, Chewy, or Amazon as direct competition. The in-store experience remains the independent retailer's main product, so anything that gives pet parents a reason to walk through the door, a grooming appointment, a training class, an adoption Saturday, is a revenue defense play.

This lands against a busy indie backdrop: Zoom Room's dog training gyms just posted back-to-back quarters of double-digit growth. The channel story of 2026 is services and experience, not assortment, and eTailPet's data gives it a hard number: stores adding services are seeing foot traffic come back.

The Numbers

  • 15.6 percent: the decline in overall independent pet retail transactions since 2024, the report's baseline year.
  • More than 60 percent of retailers that added services in the past year reported increased foot traffic; 50 percent reported improved customer loyalty.
  • 87 percent of retailers said personal connection is essential for maintaining customer loyalty.
  • 91 percent vs. 59 percent: retailers running three or more community events credit them with keeping customers, versus those running none.
  • 55 percent, 53 percent, 46 percent: raw food, frozen food, and freeze-dried food were the fastest-growing pet food categories cited in the report.
  • 75 percent, 75 percent, 73 percent: price, ingredient quality, and nutritional benefits ranked as top pet food purchase drivers.
  • 90 percent of surveyed retailers say e-commerce makes up only about 10 percent of overall sales.

What To Watch

Read the numbers with the methodology in mind. As PetRetailNews noted in its October 6 coverage, the survey drew from eTailPet's own customer base, stores already invested in its POS, and the announcement discloses no sample size, methodology, or service types. There is also no revenue or basket-size data showing that traffic gains offset the cost of adding a service, and the survey flatters eTailPet's own value proposition: its product handles service scheduling, inventory, and customer data.

The open question is whether foot traffic converts into basket sizes that reverse the 15.6 percent slide. The report shows services bring people in; watch holiday results and any follow-up data on revenue per visit.

Also watch raw and frozen. At 55 percent, 53 percent, and 46 percent respectively, raw, frozen, and freeze-dried led cited category growth, so stores leaning into services could pair the experience play with the assortment pet parents are actually buying.

Sources

- eTailPet via PRWeb, "New Data From eTailPet Finds In-Store Services Increase Foot Traffic, Aiding Customer Retention," October 6, 2026: https://pr.hattiesburg.com/article/New-Data-From-eTailPet-Finds-In-Store-Services-Increase-Foot-Traffic-Aiding-Customer-Retention/6ac4f1b4a74253059c7709e0

- PetRetailNews, "eTailPet survey finds 60% of independents added foot traffic with in-store services," October 6, 2026: https://petretailnews.com/article/etailpet-survey-finds-60-of-independents-added-foot-traffic-with-in-store-servic

- WiseVoter, "Independent Pet Retailers Reported Transaction Decline," October 6, 2026: https://wisevoter.com/world/us/2026/10/06/independent-pet-retailers-transaction-decline