Pet stores on Shopify face a passionate, high-spending customer base — pet owners spend an average of $1,380 per year on their pets and are known for brand loyalty when they trust a store. The right Shopify apps help you build that trust, automate recurring food and supplies orders, showcase products effectively, and keep customers coming back month after month.
What Pet Stores Need on Shopify
Pet product selling has specific challenges: pet food and treats have repeat purchase patterns that subscriptions solve perfectly, product suitability varies by pet breed and size requiring complex variant selection, and customers want to know products are safe and vet-approved. The apps below address these needs specifically — building trust, enabling subscriptions, managing breed/size variants, and driving the strong community engagement that pet brands thrive on.
8 Best Shopify Apps for Pet Stores
1. Recharge or Appstle Subscriptions
Pet food, treats, supplements, and flea treatments are consumables — customers buy them on a regular schedule. Subscriptions transform one-time buyers into predictable monthly revenue. Add a “Subscribe and Save 15%” option to your pet food and consumable products. Pet owners love the convenience of automatic delivery — they never run out, and you earn predictable recurring income. Start with Appstle ($10/month) for the most cost-effective subscription setup. Read our Shopify subscriptions guide for complete setup instructions.
2. Loox — Customer Photo Reviews
Pet product reviews with photos of happy cats and dogs are marketing gold. A customer photo of their Labrador enjoying your treat, or their senior cat thriving on your supplement, is the most authentic and persuasive content you can display. Loox collects these photos automatically and displays them in product page galleries. For pet stores, photo reviews routinely generate the highest engagement and conversion lift of any app. Plans from $9.99/month.
3. Infinite Options — Breed and Size Selection
Pet products often need complex specifications: dog size (XS/S/M/L/XL), breed type, weight range, flavor selection, and more. Shopify’s variant system becomes unwieldy with many combinations. Infinite Options adds structured input fields — dropdowns, radio buttons, text inputs — that let customers specify exactly what they need without being overwhelmed by variant matrices. Free plan available.
4. Klaviyo — Pet Email Marketing
Pet owners are emotionally invested in their pet’s wellbeing — emails that speak to that emotional bond convert extremely well. Klaviyo’s segmentation lets you send: breed-specific product recommendations, replenishment reminders (“Rex is running low on his monthly treats — reorder now”), seasonal care tips (summer paw protection, winter grooming), and birthday emails for customers who share their pet’s birthday. Email generates significant revenue for pet brands with engaged lists. Free up to 250 contacts.
5. LoyaltyLion — Pet Loyalty Program
Pet owners who find brands they trust become intensely loyal. A loyalty program rewards their repeat business: points for every purchase, bonus points on first subscription order, double points during Pet Appreciation events, birthday rewards for pets, and referral bonuses for bringing in other pet owners. LoyaltyLion’s VIP tiers work especially well — “Silver Paw,” “Gold Paw,” “Diamond Paw” tiers with increasing benefits create a gamification element that pet owners engage with. Plans from $59/month.
6. Back in Stock
Popular pet products — particularly limited-edition flavors, seasonal treats, or viral products — sell out quickly. Back in Stock lets customers join waitlists for sold-out items and notifies them automatically when restocked. For pet stores, waitlist notifications convert at 25-40% because pet owners have strong preferences for specific products their pets enjoy. Plans from $19/month.
7. Tidio — Pet Store Live Chat
Pet product questions are personal: “Is this supplement safe for a 12-year-old dog?”, “Which size harness fits a 45-pound Beagle?”, “Is this food grain-free?” Answering these questions in real time converts skeptical browsers into confident buyers. Tidio’s AI chatbot handles common FAQ questions automatically while routing complex pet health questions to a human agent. Free plan available.
8. Bold Bundles — Pet Supply Bundles
Bundle pet supplies into curated starter kits: “New Puppy Essentials” (food + treats + toy + shampoo), “Senior Dog Wellness Pack” (supplement + joint support treat + comfort toy), “Cat Enrichment Bundle” (interactive toys + treats + catnip). Bundles increase AOV, solve the “what do I need?” problem for new pet owners, and help you sell slower-moving items alongside bestsellers. Plans from $24.99/month.
Pet Store Marketing Ideas on Shopify
- Pet birthday emails: Ask customers for their pet’s birthday during checkout or in a welcome email. Send a birthday discount or free treat. Conversion rates on pet birthday emails are exceptionally high.
- User-generated content campaigns: Run monthly photo contests — “Photo of the Month” with your product — and feature winners on your social media and website.
- Veterinarian endorsements: If any products have vet endorsement or are recommended by veterinarians, display this prominently. Vet approval is the highest trust signal in pet products.
- Subscription bundles: Create a “Monthly Mystery Box” subscription — new products at a discount each month. This drives excitement and reduces churn as subscribers want to see next month’s items.
FAQ: Shopify Apps for Pet Stores
What is the best Shopify app for a pet store?
Subscriptions (Recharge or Appstle) are the highest-value app for pet stores that sell consumables like food, treats, or supplements. Subscriptions transform one-time buyers into recurring revenue. After subscriptions, Loox for photo reviews and Klaviyo for email marketing are the highest-ROI additions for most pet stores.
How do I sell pet food subscriptions on Shopify?
Install a subscription app like Appstle or Recharge. Create selling plans with monthly (or bi-monthly) delivery frequency and a 10-15% subscribe-and-save discount. Apply the selling plan to your pet food products. Customers choose between “One-time purchase” and “Subscribe and save” on the product page, then their payment is automatically charged and order fulfilled on the chosen schedule.
How do I collect pet photos for reviews on Shopify?
Install Loox and configure review request emails. In the review request, explicitly ask: “Share a photo of [Pet’s Name] enjoying [Product]!” Pet owners are enthusiastic sharers of their pets’ happiness. Offer loyalty points or a small discount for photo submissions to incentivize the initial wave of photo reviews.
How do I handle pet product safety information on Shopify?
Add a “Safety & Ingredients” tab on product pages using your theme’s tab feature or an app like Tabs by Station. Include: full ingredient list, feeding guidelines, weight-based dosing (for supplements), allergy warnings, and storage instructions. Link to any vet endorsements or certifications. Transparency about pet product ingredients and safety is a major trust builder and reduces customer service inquiries.
What is a good average order value for a Shopify pet store?
US pet e-commerce average order values typically range from $45-75 for consumables (food, treats) to $80-150 for accessories (beds, collars, toys). Subscription orders tend to have lower individual AOVs but much higher lifetime values. Bundles and post-purchase upsells are the most effective tactics for increasing AOV without discounting.
Final Thoughts
Pet stores on Shopify are uniquely positioned to build deeply loyal customer relationships — because loyalty to a pet brand is driven by emotional connection rather than just price. The stores that succeed long-term invest in subscriptions (for recurring revenue), photo reviews (for authentic social proof), email marketing (for personalized pet-focused communication), and loyalty programs (for rewarding the pet owners who spend the most). Build these systems from your first hundred customers and they’ll compound into a highly defensible business.
