Santa Paws: 2012 retail forecast

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Whether we like it or not, it is officially the holiday season.  Thank goodness I love to shop.  Stony Point Fashion Park is brilliant and I will make every effort to patronize businesses there rather than the non-doggy enthused alternatives.

The 2012 holiday season is gearing up to be “one of the busiest in years,” according to the National Retail Federation (NRF).  The NRF projects a four percent increase in spending on holiday loot—gifts, cards, trees and décor—to $586.1 billion, with greatest attention to gift picks.  This is where the dog economy can chime in.

Young professionals are staying single longer, and with this rising trend many take the starter family plunge via furry child.  If (factually) more Americans have dogs than kids, and more dog owners treat their dogs like family members, it is a safe bet to drive investment in canine gift giving.  An added bonus, stagnant household incomes have shown less affect on the pet product purchases than on people.  I.e., dog lovers are fanatical and will sacrifice their own indulgences before their pet’s.

Experts say more than half of the holiday shoppers will purchase online.  Web-based businesses in RVA, like Best Bully Sticks and Wag-in-the-Box, will see amplified traffic.

Howl-O-Ween in RVA

Within a neighborhood crowd of hundreds, I took the blue ribbon for a costume contest.  At five years old, I was Little Bo Peep and my Yorkshire Terrier, Duchess, was the sheep.  My mom helped me glue about 100 cotton balls onto a baby costume.  Duchess surprisingly loved it.  Maybe it was warm or maybe she just basked in the attention.  In the end, the judges revoked my “best costume of the year” after public backlash—Duchess was oozing so much cuteness that they disqualified us as unfair competition.  Sour grapes?

For the love of blogging, I will share this photo. Circa 1980’s.

Luckily, canine costume contests are now all the rage.  I like to think that I played some small part in the trendsetting.  Duchess is posthumously a trailblazer.

Here are three costume contests for Fido in the RVA area this month:

Costumes for a Cure: October 30, 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. happy yappy hour, followed by pet costume contest at Station 2.  Sponsored by Fetch a Cure, Wag-in-the-Box, CVVA, inLieu, and Station 2.

Stony Point Fashion Park: Costume Contest for dogs October 21 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.  Prizes sponsored by Three Dog Bakery.  Refreshments and trick-or-treats for pups. 

Chesterfield County: Calling all costumed canines! The Ruff House Dog Park is hosting its annual Howl-A-Woof event at Rockwood Park, Saturday, Oct. 20, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Dogs big and small can compete in a costume contest to see which is the best dressed, while humans can enjoy food and drinks, and browse the merchandise available for sale. A musical sit competition will challenge both two and four-legged competitors. All proceeds from the event will benefit the Friends of Ruff House Dog Park, a not-for-profit volunteer organization sanctioned by the Chesterfield County Department of Parks and Recreation to maintain and improve the park and enforce rules. 

Vote this week for the dog-friendly work space

This week, RVAers have a chance to vote for the best office space around in a local contest presented by the small business solution center: Work It, Richmond.  One of the contenders, Wolfgang Jasper Photography, boasts a dog-friendly work environment!

Life is made better in this office due to the canine interaction. Dogs are photographed, and employees are welcome to bring their own to work with them. Work spaces are continued atop dog crates and dog beds, which occupy nooks in the office for our four-legged employees.”

Wolfgang Jasper Photography – Source: Work It, Richmond

Wolfgang Jasper Photography is located in the Stony Point Fashion Park (read: chic mall), that offers an environment akin to pet-friendly businesses across the pond.  This dog-welcoming practice is something that RVA Muttropolis will advocate for replication in other areas of the city.

I have a few friends on the line up, including one that has a stunning space in The Fan that is home to furry mascots: Alliance Group.  Though it is not described in the spirit of the contest, I encourage you to check them out, too.

VOTE NOW!  The survey closes at 5:00 p.m. this Friday, August 17.