Q&A Interview with Taylor Harnois, General Manager for eTailPet

Tell us how your career path led you to the pet industry and joining eTailPet?

I’ve worked in software for the last decade or so in various roles. In 2023, the opportunity came along for me to utilize my software and leadership background to work with the eTailPet team. 

I have two chocolate Labs currently and grew up in a home with birds, cats, dogs, rats, mice, gerbils, hamsters, lizards and fish. When the opportunity came along to lead eTailPet, I was very excited!

Professionally, what makes the pet industry a good fit for you? What do you enjoy the most about working in pet? 

I’ve always been a pet person and have loved caring for animals. My fourth-grade teacher not only taught, but also owned a pet store, aptly named “Teacher’s Pets.” He brought in all sorts of animals throughout the year, and I was a good enough salesperson at that age to get my parents to allow many of those animals to be brought into our home as pets. 

What I enjoy most about working in the pet industry is seeing how passionate our storeowners are about the pet community. Of course, they’re interested in being successful businesspeople, but the common thing that drives most of them is their love of animals. The passion for what they’re doing makes it such a fun community to be a part of. 

At this point in your career, what are your professional goals, and what opportunities are there in the industry to help you achieve them?

Truthfully, my ultimate goal around my profession is to be able to take care of my family. Fortunately, I’ve been blessed to work in an industry that I also really enjoy. For me, the mark of success in this role is how I can provide the best value to the eTailPet customers and our employees. If our employees are happy, feel valued and are proud of what we’re doing, then that’s success. If the users of our system are seeing growth in their businesses, are able to spend more time with their customers and are seeing more efficiency managing their stores, then that’s success. There are always improvements to be made on both sides, and engaging with both customers and employees to find better ways of achieving our goals is what makes the job rewarding. 

How would you describe your leadership style? How are you mentoring your team members to develop and flex their leadership skills and create strong teams? 

For me, the key is adaptability. Some employees need oversight, some employees work very independently and most employees are somewhere in the middle. The one thing all team members have in common is that they want to feel involved, they want to feel heard and they want to know that their individual contributions are critical to the overall success of the organization. The better I’m able to define and delineate each of those points for folks individually, the more cohesive we are as a team—that’s what I like to focus on. Everyone has something to contribute, and everyone works a little bit differently, but if you can get everyone pulling in the same direction, it becomes a lot easier. 

During your career, what accomplishments have you been most proud of?

I’m very proud of both the individual successes I’ve had, as well as the successes we’ve had as an organization. We’ve seen significant growth as a company over the past couple of years, and we truly believe that we have the very best pet-store-specific software on the market. We’re very proud of what we’ve built and what we continue to improve. 

What I’m most proud of is when our customers tell us that we’ve made their lives a lot easier. Our economy goes as small businesses go; it’s what we’re built on, so when we’re told that pet store owners and operators are successful and that eTailPet has helped contribute to that, it’s very special. The same goes for our employees; when they’re stoked to be working with us, happy with what we’re doing and happy with their individual growth and contribution, I feel really proud. We have a great team!

How have the independent pet specialty channel and pet industry at large evolved since you joined eTailPet?

Over the past couple of years, it seems like small businesses are finally starting to figure out that there absolutely is a way for them to continue to grow their business, both online and in-store. 

Big-box retailers and the Chewys and Amazons of the world can be pretty intimidating. We spend a lot of time showing businesses that it’s not about competing with those groups; it’s about finding your own lane. “Community” isn’t something that is scalable for big-box retailers. Our best stores are the ones who have gone all-in on building a community rather than just moving SKUs and having a transactional relationship with their customers. The ones who have figured that out are the ones doing really, really well. 

Engagement on social media has also really moved much more into the forefront, which again, has to do with building a community. Most consumers don’t want to just come in and pick something off the shelf and get out; they want retailers to know them, their pets and what they’re buying preferences are. 

How would you describe the state of the pet industry?

While we’re not exempt from today’s various macroeconomic headwinds, the pet industry has been very resilient. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that the industry truly is made up of “essential services.” I also think that we’re seeing a resurgence of small business success within the industry. It will always be difficult to compete directly with big-box retailers, but if small businesses sharpen their marketing skills, utilize tools that help them be more efficient and find new, creative ways to connect with their customers, they should have every expectation of being successful. 

We’re in a unique position at eTailPet to have a front row seat to see how daily sales are performing, what channels sales are coming from and how the successful stores are making it happen. What we see is very encouraging! Consumers want a unique shopping experience that can only be found at local pet retailers, and they’re flexing their spending to reward stores that are doing it right. 

What is the role of the independent pet specialty channel in supporting the growth and evolution of the pet industry?

I can’t understate how important independent pet specialty retailers are in driving growth and fueling change in the industry. A few of the critical roles they play are customer education, product specialization and community engagement. Big-box retailers aren’t able to make all of the unique, couture product offerings readily available. This is where smaller retailers can come in and fill a niche. Consumers want a curated shopping experience, and specialty retailers can provide that in ways that are personalized and that are hard to replicate and scale. Same with consumer education; consumers want to buy from retailers who are experts. 

eTaiPet, for example, allows retailers to store pet information and have it tied to a consumer account or profile, and it’s a powerful tool. Imagine walking into a store where the employees not only know you, but they know the names of your pets, what food or toys they like and know what services to recommend. It’s a really unique shopping experience, and it’s something that only small, specialty retailers can provide. 

One of my favorite parts about many of our customers is their commitment to community involvement. It’s not uncommon to pull up one of their sites and find a community calendar stacked with events that bring the public into the store, or that get the store and its employees involved in the community. This really isn’t something that big-box retailers are equipped to provide, much less scale in any meaningful way. 

Given the highly competitive nature of retail, what is eTailPet’s strategy to differentiate itself while supporting the pet retailers you partner with?

At eTailPet, we’re committed to revolutionizing how independent pet retailers operate. First, we know that today’s consumers expect a seamless shopping experience—whether they’re browsing online, visiting a physical store or making a quick purchase on their phone. We prioritize an omnichannel experience, ensuring customers can shop conveniently and effortlessly wherever they are.

However, it’s not only about the shopping experience. It’s also about giving business owners the tools they need to be successful. We have deep integrations with platforms like Astro Loyalty, which means retailers can streamline their operations without constantly switching between two separate systems. In a recent customer panel, we heard a lot about how our tools have made the check-out process much quicker and more seamless for store owners. Additionally, inventory management and customer engagement tools all work together in a way that makes sense, saving time and reducing hassle.

Running a business should be made easier with technology, not more challenging. By removing complexities and offering intuitive solutions, we help pet retailers focus on what really matters—building relationships with customers, growing their business and creating a great experience for every pet parent that walks through their doors.

Given eTailPet’s founder has roots in pet retail and has a unique perspective on the challenges and opportunities retailers face, what would you like for retailers to better understand about eTailPet?

eTailPet is built for the industry. We know what’s important to our customers and we work tirelessly to provide the best tools on the market. We take customer feedback very seriously, and I’m proud to say that our system is crafted under the direction of its users; if it’s important to our retailers, it’s important to us. 

We hear from a lot of new business owners that it’s daunting to run a small, niche business like a pet store. It’s a lot for new owners to feel like they are having to go against big stores with big budgets, a lot of inventory and seemingly endless capital. We like to give small businesses the tools to compete in this marketplace. 

How do you work with Berenice Giannini?

Bere isn’t heavily involved in the day-to-day, but whenever we need some unique input or ideas, she’s always available and excited to see eTailPet continue to flourish. She did a remarkable job of laying a foundation for us to be successful, and we’re always proud to recognize her as our founder. I don’t think a day goes by where one of our customers doesn’t ask how Bere is doing. She’s well loved and respected not only by us, but by our customers as well! 

What was the impetus to become a sponsor for IndiePet?

A lot of our retailers are members of IndiePet and have seen the value of working together in this really unique industry organization, so it was a good fit for us. To be honest, all of the things we’ve already talked about like curating a unique shopping experience for consumers, focusing on education, identifying market trends, etc., all of those things are things that IndiePet brings to the table. It’s a fantastic organization. 

What do you attribute to eTailPet’s continued success? What are some key values and features of eTailPet that make you a leader? 

We’ve really focused on providing tools that are going to help retailers be successful. When our stores are successful, we’re successful. We receive a significant number of customer referrals, and that always means a lot to us. It means we’re on the right track and what we’re building is helpful. 

Our ability to provide an omnichannel experience, servicing online and in-store, as well as our Product Universe which is the most robust product catalog database available on the market, and of course our deep integration with Astro Loyalty set us apart. 

How does eTailPet identify retailers to partner with? What are the qualities you are looking for in a solid retail partner?

It comes down to the goals that the retailer has. If they’re interested in selling online and in-store, if they’re looking for a tool that’s going to help manage inventory, services and marketing, and if they’re wanting something that is easy to use, then we’re likely a good fit for them. 

What makes our platform so appealing for many retailers is that we are an all-in-one solution. We cover merchant processing, inventory, retail, grooming, marketing, ordering, reporting and much more. When new pet stores come aboard, they’re going to be spending much less time trying to piece together the whole business puzzle by themselves; we’re already doing that for them. 

This year, what are some of the ongoing initiatives eTailPet has been working on to support retailers and pet owners?

My favorite thing we’ve done this year is founding a “Customer Advisory Group.” This group represents a pretty good cross-section of our retailers, and they provide product and development feedback and direction, help us identify industry trends and really provide some great feedback in general. It’s also been a nice avenue to provide some networking for our stores to get together to share best practices and tips and tricks. 

The other thing we’ve really been focused on is deepening our ties and our integration with Astro. Astro is used so much in the industry, and we know how important it is for shoppers to have a seamless experience. We’re going all-in on continuing to make that the best in class offering that it already is. 

What has been a success for eTailPet in the last year that you’d like to highlight or celebrate?

Certainly, our growth. There are a number of solutions that stores can choose from, so to see the type of growth that we have over the course of the past year has been really encouraging. It means that we’re doing right by our customers, our industry partners and our employees. We have a really great team, and we have the absolute best customer population; seeing that continue to grow has been really awesome. 

What are your goals and priorities for eTailPet during 2025? What can we expect from eTailPet in the near future?

We have some marketing features coming out that will really help our stores do a better job of maintaining relationships and communicating with consumers. I can’t share too many details at this time, but we’ll be fulfilling the biggest request that our customers have had over the past couple of years, so we’re very excited! 

Our biggest priority remains providing the very best customer experience that we can for our pet store owners and operators. There are a lot of challenges when running a small business, and anything that we can do to continue to help Main Street both compete and win against big-box retailers is what motivates us.