Every year on the last Saturday of September, independent pet retailers, brands, and pet parents across the U.S. and Canada come together to celebrate Neighborhood Pet Store Day (NPSD) — a holiday created by IndiePet to spotlight the importance of shopping local and supporting the independent pet community.
Now in its third year, NPSD has grown into a nationwide movement — one that unites thousands of local stores and the brands that support them under a shared mission: to strengthen the bond between communities and the independent businesses that keep them thriving.
Astro Loyalty is proud to partner with IndiePet to make this celebration possible. Through the Astro Offers platform, participating brands can easily publish special promotions that are automatically made available to independent pet retailers across the U.S. and Canada. These Offers allow stores to join the event effortlessly — turning a single weekend into a powerful opportunity to drive foot traffic, reward loyalty, and grow sales.
Best of all, Astro Offers is completely free for independent pet specialty and farm & feed retailers to use, making it easy for any store — no matter its size — to take part in this annual event.
September 27–28, 2025, marked the biggest Neighborhood Pet Store Day weekend yet, proving that when local pet stores and brands invest in their communities, the rewards reach everyone — pets, people, and the businesses that make up the heart of the indie pet channel.
📊 The Numbers Tell a Story of Growth and Return
When we compared NPSD weekend (Sept 27–28, 2025) to an average weekend on Astro, the results told a clear and powerful story.
Retailer Highlights:
- 🐕 36% more pet owners engaged with their local pet shops.
- 💰 42% higher total sales in just two days.
- 🎟️ 465% more Offer redemptions, meaning customers weren’t just browsing — they were buying.
Brand Highlights:
- 🐾 52% more customers engaged with participating brands — a mix of first-time buyers discovering new products and lapsed customers returning after being gone for more than a year.
- 💸 42% sales lift compared to an average weekend.
In simple terms: more shoppers, more loyalty, and more meaningful connections between pet parents, local stores, and trusted brands.
🏘️ Retailers: Reconnecting Communities, One Pet at a Time
For local pet retailers, Neighborhood Pet Store Day 2025 was about more than numbers — it was about reconnection.
Thousands of pet parents visited neighborhood stores for the first time, discovering the value of expert guidance, personalized care, and the unique energy only a small business can provide.
But perhaps even more inspiring were the many returning faces — pet owners who hadn’t shopped local in over a year but came back for NPSD, drawn by the excitement, the offers, and the sense of belonging that big-box stores simply can’t replicate.
Across the Astro network, independent retailers didn’t just drive sales — they rekindled relationships.
💡 Astro Retailers Who Went All In
If one theme stood out during NPSD 2025, it was this: when you go all in, your community shows up for you.
Across the country, independent pet retailers brought their own creativity, passion, and purpose to the weekend — turning a sales holiday into a neighborhood celebration.
Here are just a few examples of stores that went above and beyond:
🐾 Mud Bay (WA & OR) made a massive regional impact with their “Made with Mud Bay” promotion — offering BOGO 50% Off all Made with Mud Bay products and, on Saturday only, matching 100% of pet food sales to support pets in need across the Pacific Northwest.
That’s what NPSD is all about: turning customer purchases into community support.
🐶 Busch Pet Products (Cape Girardeau, MO) celebrated two events in one — Neighborhood Pet Store Day and their annual Customer Appreciation Day.
Creating a massive in-store event that drew in loyal fans and first-time visitors alike.
🐕🦺 Howlin’ At The Moon Dog Bakery (Winston-Salem, NC) tied their celebration to a cause, donating a portion of daily sales to the Forsyth County Animal Shelter and offering 10% off purchases for customers who brought a donation from the shelter’s wish list.
🐕🦺 Legion Dog & Cat Supply (Clarksville, TN) made their NPSD celebration truly meaningful by hosting dog and cat adoptions right in the store — helping pets find their forever homes while bringing the community together. Beyond the adoptions, the shop kept the energy high all day long with free giveaways for the first 25 customers, raffles packed with prizes for pets and people alike, and storewide sales that encouraged shoppers to explore every aisle. Their team built anticipation with weeks of social media buzz, turning NPSD into a full-day neighborhood event. As they put it best: “Our way of saying THANK YOU for shopping small and supporting your local pet shop.”
🎨 Paws on Main (Columbiana, OH) gave their shoppers something truly memorable — pet portraits! They hosted local artist Tammi Johnson, who offered pre-registered and day-of portrait sittings for pets during the weekend.
🐕 All Pets Considered (Greensboro, NC) took a heartfelt approach with a campaign inviting customers to share a written or video testimonial about what their local pet store means to them. Every participant received up to $10 OFFtheir purchase for taking the time to tell their story.
It was the perfect mix of connection, gratitude, and engagement.
🐶 TrailBlazer Pet Supply (Chico, CA) went big across all three of their locations. Their NPSD celebration featured exclusive savings on customer favorites, new product discoveries, and goodie bags for the first 15 shoppers. They even set up a DIY pup cup station with healthy toppings and offered temporary tattoos for kids — making the day fun for the whole family and every four-legged friend.
🐱 Local Paws (Redmond, OR) made the weekend fun and rewarding with raffles and giveaways, offering a $100 Local Paws gift card drawing for customers who spent $100 or more, and a Fussie Cat prize pack valued at $80 for those who purchased participating brand items.
🐾 Mississippi Mutts (Cape Girardeau, MO) made NPSD a full-blown community party, with in-store specials, door prizes, Roni’s Mac Bar, and even nail and gland services from 1–3pm. They invited customers to enjoy a full day of fun while supporting local — and even encouraged them to visit their neighbors at The Indie House and Annie Laurie’s for more downtown shopping.
🧴 Pet Pantry (Colorado Springs, CO) turned NPSD into a celebration of pampering. Shoppers enjoyed Buy One, Get One ½ Off Dog Washes (up to 3), and every pup got a FREE Pup Cup, complete with toppers like Cane’s Bully Dust and Jerky.
🐴 Taylor Tack & Feed (Cave Creek, AZ) showed that NPSD isn’t just for pet specialty — it’s for Farm & Feed stores, too. Their all-day celebration featured free dog ice cream, goodie bags, storewide sales, giveaways, and door prizes, plus a $50 gift card drawing for customers who tagged friends and shared the event. Their team embodied the spirit of NPSD, creating a welcoming, family-friendly experience that celebrated their customers, their pets, and their community.
And these are just a few highlights — there were hundreds more like them.
These examples show that no matter what kind of store you run — whether it’s pet specialty, boutique, or farm and feed — NPSD works when you make it your own. From coast to coast, independent stores used the holiday to tell their stories, showcase their brands, and build lasting connections with their communities.
And these are just a few highlights — there were hundreds more like them.
These examples show that no matter what kind of store you run — whether it’s pet specialty, boutique, or farm and feed — NPSD works when you make it your own. From coast to coast, independent stores used the holiday to tell their stories, showcase their brands, and build lasting connections with their communities.
🏷️ Brands: Trial, Trust, and Reactivation
While retailers brought the excitement, brands brought the momentum — powering the weekend with hundreds of exclusive Astro Offers across the country.
And the results were extraordinary.
During NPSD weekend, brands saw 52% more customers purchasing their products compared to an average weekend on Astro.
That figure includes:
- First-time buyers who discovered a new brand for the first time.
- Reactivated lapsed customers who hadn’t purchased from that brand in more than a year, now returning to fill their Frequent Buyer cards again.
That combination — trial + reactivation — is incredibly rare in marketing.
It means NPSD didn’t just generate awareness; it reignited relationships.
Brands that participated didn’t just see a short-term spike — they gained new fans and reconnected with old ones through genuine, data-backed loyalty.
🌟 Reward + Rebate Offers: The Winning Combination
One of the biggest stories from this year’s data is how a variety of Astro Offer types worked together to drive engagement and sales.
- Reward Offers (Buy X, Get X or Y Free) saw a 352% lift in MSRP dollars, proving that “free good” promotions are still one of the best ways to inspire curiosity and trial.
- Rebate Offers ($X Off) saw a 427% lift in MSRP dollars, showing that strong dollar-off deals remain key drivers for repeat purchases and larger basket sizes — especially for premium foods and staples.
✍️ In short:
Reward Offers bring customers in. Rebate Offers keep them buying.
🐕🦺 The Halo Effect of Loyalty
When a pet parent redeems an Offer or joins a Frequent Buyer Program during NPSD, something bigger happens. They connect that positive experience — the fun event, the great deal, the friendly service — with that store and brand.
That connection builds lasting loyalty. Pet parents don’t just remember the discount — they remember the people and the pets behind it.
And that’s the power of community-driven marketing: it creates emotional equity that keeps customers coming back.
🏆 Standout Success Stories
This year’s Neighborhood Pet Store Day made one thing clear: whether you’re a legacy leader or a passionate independent, when brands take an intentional approach to the holiday — offering great deals, supporting retailers, and engaging pet parents — the results speak for themselves.
One long-established brand showed what’s possible when a major manufacturer goes all in. With eight Offers spanning multiple product lines — including food and treats for both cats and dogs — this brand delivered a 95% increase in new and reactivated customers, a 25% lift in sales, and more than a 1,100% surge in Offer redemptions compared to an average weekend. It proved that even legacy brands can create fresh excitement and measurable growth by fully embracing the indie community and showing up big for NPSD.
Another smaller, mission-driven company turned NPSD into a breakout weekend, nearly doubling its new and returning customers (+96%), achieving a 333% increase in total sales, and generating almost 10× more Offer redemptions than usual. Their balanced mix of Reward and Rebate Offers encouraged both trial and repeat purchase, showing how emerging brands can stand shoulder to shoulder with the industry’s biggest names when they invest in this event.
A second independent brand demonstrated the power of authenticity and purpose-driven marketing, seeing an 847% increase in new and reactivated customer engagement that translated into major gains in Offer participation and sales across dog and cat product lines. Their transparent mission and heartfelt marketing inspired pet parents to shop with purpose — proving that sincerity, paired with smart promotions, can create brand loyalty that lasts long after the weekend ends.
Even more remarkable — each of these brands made their Offers available to Astro retailers in both the U.S. and Canada, expanding the reach of Neighborhood Pet Store Day across borders and strengthening the collective impact of the independent pet channel.
Together, these examples prove that NPSD isn’t just a sales event — it’s an opportunity for every brand, from heritage leaders to passionate independents, to grow their reach, reconnect with customers, and strengthen loyalty through community-driven marketing.
🧩 NPSD Is What You Put Into It
Here’s one of the clearest takeaways from 2025: the effort you put into NPSD determines the results you get out of it.
From the brand side, that means crafting rich, compelling Offers. When your deal delivers real value — whether it’s a deep discount or a BOGO on a best-seller — shoppers notice. They come for the deal and return for the experience.
From the retailer side, it’s about making NPSD more than a sale. The most successful stores turned the weekend into a celebration — bringing in brand reps, partnering with local businesses, hosting adoption drives, fundraisers, and family-friendly events that made their shops the heartbeat of their communities.
NPSD is what you make of it.
When you put your creativity and care into it, pet parents show up — and they remember you long after the weekend is over.
💬 The Big Takeaway
Neighborhood Pet Store Day 2025 absolutely proved that local still wins.
For retailers, it was proof that expertise, authenticity, and connection build loyalty that lasts.
For brands, it showed that community-driven marketing can achieve what traditional advertising can’t — trial, reactivation, and lasting customer trust.
When pet parents choose to shop local, they don’t just support a business — they support the people, pets, and communities that make our industry thrive.
And when brands, retailers, and IndiePet unite behind that mission, the results are extraordinary.
🚀 Looking Ahead
If you’re a retailer, now’s the time to start planning for Neighborhood Pet Store Day 2026. Enroll early in Astro Offers, use the Astro Marketing Suite to spread the word, and make your store the place to be next September.
If you’re a brand, get ready to connect with the most loyal and engaged pet parents in the industry. Rich Offers and community partnerships during NPSD drive trial, reactivation, and long-term growth that keeps working long after the weekend ends.
Because when the independent pet channel comes together, it doesn’t just compete — it wins.
🐾 Neighborhood Pet Store Day 2026
Brought to you by IndiePet and their partners, powered by Astro Offers.
