A regular who stopped coming in
Mrs Patel has bought the same large bag of grain free dog food from you every four or five weeks for years, along with some treats and chews. This spring, you realise you have not seen her for a while. When she comes in for a new lead, she mentions that she ran out one weekend, ordered online with a subscription, and it has been turning up ever since.
She liked coming in. She just needed the food not to run out. You had the product, the price was fair, and you knew her dog by name. What you did not have was a way to make the next bag happen without her having to remember.
Why regulars slip away
Pet food is a repeat purchase with a predictable cycle, and online retailers built their business around that cycle. Independent shops usually rely on the customer to remember, and on having the right bag on the shelf when they do.
- There is no record of how often each customer buys their food.
- Customers have no way to set up a repeat order with you.
- Reminders, if any, are ad hoc texts from a staff member's phone.
- Payment is only taken in store.
- Delivery or reserved collection is not offered on a regular basis.
What drifting regulars cost
A regular food customer is worth a lot over the years, not just in food but in the treats, toys, beds and accessories they buy when they are in the shop. Losing them to a subscription elsewhere loses all of that, often quietly, because nobody notices until months later.
It also makes your ordering harder. Without knowing who buys what and when, you stock by feel, and sometimes the one bag a regular needs is out of stock on the day they come in.
Repeat orders your shop can run
- We set up a repeat order for each customer who wants one: the product, the quantity, how often, and whether they collect or have it delivered.
- Customers can sign up in store with a staff member, or from a link on your website or a QR code at the till.
- Payment is taken by card on file through Stripe or a similar provider, on the schedule, or at collection if you prefer.
- A few days before each order is due, the customer gets a text or email reminder with a link to skip, change or add to the order.
- Staff get a daily pick list of orders due for collection or delivery, and orders are rung through the till so stock and sales are correct.
- A dashboard shows active repeat orders, upcoming volumes by product and customers who have cancelled.
| Step | Today | With repeat orders |
|---|---|---|
| Remembering to buy | Customer's job | Scheduled order and reminder |
| Changes | Customer rings or forgets | Link to skip or change |
| Payment | In store only | Card on file or at collection |
| Picking | When they turn up | Daily pick list |
| Visibility | None | Dashboard of upcoming orders |
We use your existing till for the sale where possible, so repeat orders do not create a second set of sales figures.
Regulars who stay regular
Each morning, staff print the pick list and bag the orders for collection or delivery. Customers get a reminder, and most just let the order go through. When they come to collect, the bag is ready with their name on it, and they often pick up something else while they are there.
You can see how many bags of each food are due over the next month, which makes ordering from wholesalers much easier and reduces the chance of running out.
Could repeat orders keep your regulars?
- Regular food customers have started buying online.
- You do not know how often each customer buys their food.
- Customers cannot set up a repeat order with you.
- Staff send reminders from personal phones, if at all.
- The food a regular needs is sometimes out of stock when they come in.