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.

Exclusive offer for RVA Muttropolis readers:

Receive $5 off any Wag-in-the-Box purchase this fall!  Promo code: (case sensitive!) 5Wags4RVAMuttropolis

You’ve likely heard the buzz around Birch Box for people; well, this is Fido’s local-to-RVA edition.  Sample the best boutique shop treats, chews, and toys—all natural and health conscious ingredients.  It makes for the perfect gift for the dog-lover, especially those who have it all!  Wag-in-the-Box will also make a donation to a charity of your choosing, like Fetch a Cure.

Gift a friend a few months subscription and they’ll thank you over and over again.  Here’s to waggy tails.

THE DOG ECONOMY:  
It’s bigger than the beauty product industry.  Wrap your paws around that for a minute.

American Pet Products Association (APPA) reports that its 2011-2012 National Pet Owners survey found 62 percent of United States households own a pet; that’s roughly 72.9 million homes.  It also reports that in 2011, $50.96 billion—yes, with a B—was spent on pets in the United States.

How to make money in the $50 billion pet industry.

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.