Lions and Tigers and PETS! Oh my!

People are easily swayed when it comes to the well being of man’s best friend. Why do people choose a huge national pet store like PetSmart over a local pet store such as Austin’s Bark ‘N Purr? Even the animal world is being infiltrated and overwhelmed by social media today.

Bingley, my four-month-old yorkie poo
He loves treats and walks anywhere!

According to the Humane Society, an estimate of over sixty percent of American households own pets. While cats and dogs are typically household pets, there are also a variety of uncommonly known domesticated animals such as llamas, goats, ferrets, guinea pigs, fish and birds.

PetSmart has over 3,000 tweets on the social networking site and over 17,000 followers. While Bark N Purr only has 117 tweets and only 202 followers. While Bark N Purr is a newer member to the Twitter world, they have their work cut out for them if they are to overtake the national company of PetSmart.

Petsmart has many locations across the nation, and they make a convenient experience for the customer with a highly efficient website. PetSmart has highly-developed technology which provides the gift of simplicity to consumers using the website. They also make social networking sites readily available on PetSmart’s home page.

Bark ‘N Purr, contrastingly, has a less technologically advanced website and has links to their Twitter and Facebook pages in a hidden page on their website. While Bark N Purr has a more modest website, the depiction of their website accurately conveys the feel of the actual store on Burnet Road.

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Bark 'N Purr located on Burnet Road

Bark ‘N Purr claims to be a local store that “knows best.” With K9 and feline experts working at the store, they buy only the best products, and therefore charge the premium price for these products. On their website, there is a tab that says, “why shop at Bark ‘N Purr?” they highlight specific bullet points such as the quality foods rather than the bargain brand prices, 8 nutritional specialists, extensive knowledge of breeds, products and information that is personalized for each person and pet.

The Twitter and Facebook accounts of both Bark ‘N Purr and PetSmart are similar in that they provide information about events and specials going on in their stores.  For PetSmart, it is a way to personalize the brand while Bark ‘N Purr uses this tool as a valuable conversation-started with its customers and the community.

The PetSmart Twitter works as a valuable tool because it makes this national company more personalized and available to the average consumer. Being such a large corporation, it would be easy for the customer to feel lost in the crowd of other consumers. Twitter helps prevent that from happening by asking questions to its followers, offering special deals as well as providing monthly in-store coupons.

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Pet Smart trade mark dog toys 

The Bark ‘N Purr Twiiter account also works as a useful medium, but in a much different way. Bark ‘N Purr uses its Twitter and Facebook account, not to gain a good opinion from its publics but as a conversation-starter. By advertising local dog walks, events in honor of pets as well as new product releases in stores, they are able to capture interest and convey compassion for the community. Bark ‘N Purr uses its local angle to the utmost through its social networking sites.

While PetSmart and Bark ‘N Purr both get useful feedback from its customers, the two pet shops are different in size, purpose and networking. Because of the local angle, Bark ‘N Purr has a niche community of Austin pet lovers. These consumers are probably wealthier and value quality over quantity. Pet Smart, being a national brand, does not have the same loyalty as Bark ‘N Purr, but they work to prevent the big corporation stereotypes by showing as much genuine interest in individuals as they can.