Marketing for pet stores on Shopify
How Tilly markets Shopify pet brands: the pet parents who buy, what worries them, rules on pet health claims, key dates, and what works in email, SEO, ads and on-page.
Who buys pet products online
Pet owners buy for someone who cannot tell them what they think. That makes them careful, loyal once they find something that works, and very responsive to other owners' experiences.
Typical personas. Tilly builds yours from your own reviews and orders.
The careful pet parent.
The problem solver.
The gift giver.
- Pain: worried about ingredients and upsetting their pet's stomach.
- Matters: ingredients, sourcing, vet input, reviews from owners of similar pets.
- Objection: "Is this safe for my dog?"
- Pain: a specific issue: a picky eater, a destructive chewer, anxiety during storms.
- Matters: proof it works for that exact problem.
- Objection: "Will this work for my pet?"
- Pain: finding something special for their pet or a friend's.
- Matters: fun, quality, presentation.
- Objection: "Will they actually use it?"
What works, by channel
Email. Replenishment for food, treats and supplements. Welcome flows that ask about the pet (species, size, age) so later emails fit. Birthday or adoption-day emails for the pet.
SEO. "Best toys for heavy chewers", "how to switch dog food", breed and size guides.
Ads. Real pets using the product, owner reviews, and problem-solution stories shown through the pet, not claims.
On-page. Ingredients, size and breed guidance, and reviews filtered by pet type or size.
One example per channel
- Email, for the careful pet parent: a welcome email that asks the pet's size and age in two taps, so the next email recommends a portion, not a bestseller.
- SEO, for the problem solver: a guide to switching food gradually, naming the stomach worries owners mention in your reviews and linking to the starter size.
- Ads, for the gift giver: a short clip of a real dog opening the product, with the packaging in shot and no claim beyond what the pet is visibly doing.
- On-page, for the careful pet parent: the guaranteed analysis and the full ingredient list as text, next to reviews filtered by the reviewer's pet size.
Dates that matter
- National Pet Day and other pet days
- Adoption anniversaries, collected in your welcome flow
- Halloween: costumes
- Fireworks season: calming products
- December holidays: stockings and gifts
Fireworks season needs a lead time
Calming products are bought before the noise, not during it. Email the owners who told you their dog is anxious well ahead of the fireworks dates where you sell, with a second, shorter reminder close to the night for people who meant to order and did not.
Rules to know
- Health claims for pet supplements and treats can turn a product into a veterinary drug. Keep claims to general support.
- Pet food has labelling rules, including in the US through state rules based on AAFCO models, and in Canada.
- Reviews used in ads must reflect typical results.
Your emails and ads count as labelling
Pet food rules are not only about the bag. The AAFCO model regulations that most US states adopt treat communication about the product in any medium as labelling, so the product page, the welcome email and the ad are held to the same standard as the package. source, checked 25 September 2026
Two phrases to take out of your copy straight away: "AAFCO approved" and "AAFCO certified". AAFCO writes model rules and does not approve any product; a food can meet an AAFCO nutrient profile, which is a different and checkable claim. source, checked 25 September 2026
Vet recommended, vet formulated
These sound alike and are not. "Veterinarian formulated" or "developed" needs one documented vet who did the work. "Veterinarian recommended" needs a statistically sound survey of vets who recommend the product, which most small brands do not have. If your founder story includes a vet, you probably have the first claim and not the second. source, checked 25 September 2026
Names that promise an ingredient
"Beef dog food", "beef recipe", "with beef" and "beef flavour" each promise a different amount of beef, and the rules tie the name to the share of the ingredient. Keep ad headlines and email subject lines to the same wording as the product name, not a tastier version of it. source, checked 25 September 2026
Some health-sounding food claims get a closer look in the US. The FDA names urinary tract health, low magnesium and hairball control as claims it reviews, so treat them as claims that need evidence ready, not as marketing adjectives. source, checked 25 September 2026
A worked example
For a dog treat brand, written for the careful pet parent
A worked example (illustrative, not a real store)
Fictional store, for illustration. A dog treat brand sold several sizes but emailed every customer the same content. Tilly added a welcome email asking for dog size, then split replenishment and product suggestions by size.
Questions people ask
What claims can pet supplement brands make?
Claims that a product treats or prevents a disease in animals can make it a drug in the US and Canada. Keep claims to general support, back them with evidence, and get regulatory advice for your products.
What is the best email flow for pet brands?
For food, treats and supplements, replenishment is usually the most valuable, because customers reorder on a predictable schedule.
Can I say my food is "vet recommended"?
Only with a statistically sound survey of veterinarians behind it. If one vet helped create the recipe, "veterinarian formulated" is the accurate claim, provided you can document it. source, checked 25 September 2026
Do treats need the same label items as food?
Mostly, but a product clearly labelled as a treat or snack does not need a complete-and-balanced statement, and feeding directions are optional for it. source, checked 25 September 2026
Mistakes pet stores make in their marketing
- Showing a calm dog in an ad for a calming chew and implying that result for every dog.
- Recommending the same portion or size to every customer instead of asking about the pet first.
- Leading with a vet in the founder story and slipping from "vet formulated" to "vet recommended" in the ads.
- Sending treat promotions to owners who told you their pet is on a restricted diet.
See this on your own store
Paste your store URL. The first pass takes about a minute and needs no account. Save a card (nothing is charged) and Tilly reads the whole store and works out who buys from you.