Staycations, today's economy, and the exotics and aquarium trade

Today's economy is in a downward spiral--no one questions that. Pretty much everyone is feeling the pinch these days. But oddly, I've noticed that among the handful of industries that are benefiting from the falling economy (alongside long-overlooked local and regional attractions, venues, museums, and theme parks) is actually the pet industry.

Times are tight, but more people are buying more animals. Th'heck?

The store where I work--a private shop that focuses on fish and reptiles--has seen a substantial increase in business through the month of July, which has for years been our fiscally weakest month. Sales in supplies are not much increased, but sales of new aquarium setups and kits, and reptiles and their setups, have skyrocketed.

After getting past the "huh?" factor, it actually begins to make sense, however. Fewer people are travelling, and when they do they travel closer to home and stay less time. Summertime is normally slow for the pet industry (except kennels and boarding venues) because people don't want to bring an animal home right before they take off for Hawaii for 3 weeks.

But if finances are keeping you from going places further than driving distance, and only for a weekend or two, summer suddenly becomes the ideal time to bring home a new family member. The kids are out of school, wanting something to do. Family activities are the name of the game. New pets are something everyone can be involved in.

Further, some parents are feeling guilty they're not able to afford a vacation like past years, so they're more willing to give into pet requests they've previously denied. Spending $300-400 on a nice tank setup, or a snake or lizard with its appropriate habitat, when you're going on a $3000 vacation the next month might stretch the budget too far. But when rising gas costs and other fiscal factors turn last year's $3000 vacation into a $5000 trip this year and you have to give it up, that $300 for a new pet seems a bargain.

This is not supposition, either. I've been hearing these comments for weeks from new customers to the store. "We're not going on a trip this year, so I wanted to do something special for the kids." "We're not leaving town this year, so now's a good time to get a pet." "I feel really bad we can't go to Disneyland this year, so I told my son we'd get him the snake he's asked for for his birthday for 3 years."

It's a topsy-turvy place to be, right now. The fish and exotics industry, especially for private stores, has been on the decline for years. It's been hard to make a go of it if you weren't PetSmart or PetCo. But now, as the rest of the world falls apart, suddenly it's a great time to be a pet store.