Can you help me understand my reptile store target audience?

[GinaG]

Hi everyone,
I'm currently writing up a business plan for a specialist reptile pet store in the UK. I feel there is a gap in the current UK market for this as lately I have seen an up-rise in the amount of people who would like to have a reptile as a pet and have discovered that there are actually more reptiles owned as pets in the UK than there are dogs. I don't feel there are many reputable reptile breeders in the UK, especially for bearded dragon morphs and I hope to change this. All my livestock and feeders would be bred in store so the customer knows exactly where their money is going and will get to see the parents of the animals they are buying and feel more reassured that their new pet is healthy and not inbred. Pretty much all the pet stores in the UK buy from a range of different breeders and the buyer will find it almost impossible to find out about the heritage and care of that animal before multiple young lizards are all put together in one vivarium and frankly, not well cared for until sold.
For my business plan, I need to find out who my target audience is and therefore I was hoping everybody here and BD.org can help me out. I know a lot of you are based in America rather than the UK, but it will help give me a general feeling of what the market is like as I am sure there wouldn't be a great amount of difference between the UK and America.
If everybody could answer the following questions for me who own reptiles or are looking into buying one, it would be definitely appreciated.

FOR REPTILE OWNERS ONLY:
Age?
Gender?
Nationality?
Income (to the closest 10,000)
Number of household members?
Location? (County/State)
What reptile(s) do you own?
Would you be interested or have you purchased any specialist morphs? If so, what?
Are there any reptile brands that you would purchase over others?
How often do you spend money on your reptile?
Do you prefer to purchase your live feeders from a store or have them delivered to your house address?
What would you most like to see in a specialist reptile store that is not seen in general pet stores?
How far would you be willing to travel to go to a pet store that you trust?

FOR ANYBODY INTERESTED IN PURCHASING A REPTILE:
Age?
Gender?
Nationality?
Income (to the closest 10,000)
Number of household members?
Location? (County/State)
What reptile(s) would you be most interested in buying?
Would you be interested in purchasing reptile morphs?
What would you most look for in customer service when purchasing a reptile?
Would you be put off by having to go through slightly stricter store regulations when purchasing a reptile? (I.e. Being asked whether you've owned a reptile before, being told that you can not take your reptile until at least 3 days after purchasing a vivarium and heat/light products and to bring in a picture of your vivarium to prove that it has been set up correctly before taking your reptile home and possibly having a home check on your animal and set up? etc)
How far would you be willing to travel to purchase a reptile from a trustworthy store?


I can't think of any other questions right now. I feel this has covered the basis of it. Feel free to add comments if anybody has any advice on setting up a small business or if there's anything in particular that you would like to see in store.

Thank you.

 

[Grixxly15]

FOR REPTILE OWNERS ONLY:
Age?17
Gender?Male
Nationality?American
Income (to the closest 10,000)White Collar middle class
Number of household members?4
Location? (County/State)USA, Maryland
What reptile(s) do you own? 1 Bearded Dragon
Would you be interested or have you purchased any specialist morphs? If so, what?No, I personally like them the way nature wanted.
Are there any reptile brands that you would purchase over others?I'm kind of loyal to Rep-Cal they have quality products and I'm not really up to experimenting with anything else on the lines of supplements.
How often do you spend money on your reptile?I spend like 2 dollars on him a week with food from the grocery store. I buy UV light once every 6 months. Supplements never really seem to run out. I breed my own feeders but may get him some super worms once a month (except during brumation)
Do you prefer to purchase your live feeders from a store or have them delivered to your house address? Buy them from a store.
What would you most like to see in a specialist reptile store that is not seen in general pet stores?Honestly just someone that knows what they are talking about. You don't see that in to many general pet stores.
How far would you be willing to travel to go to a pet store that you trust?25 minutes.

FOR ANYBODY INTERESTED IN PURCHASING A REPTILE:
Age? 17
Gender? Male
Nationality? American
Income (to the closest 10,000) Not sure....White Collar Middle Class
Number of household members? 4
Location? (County/State) USA, Maryland
What reptile(s) would you be most interested in buying? Larger reptiles
Would you be interested in purchasing reptile morphs? No, I like the way nature made them.
What would you most look for in customer service when purchasing a reptile? I don't like employees breathing down my neck when I'm making decisions. I'll come to you if I have a question, or am looking for more information.
Would you be put off by having to go through slightly stricter store regulations when purchasing a reptile? (I.e. Being asked whether you've owned a reptile before, being told that you can not take your reptile until at least 3 days after purchasing a vivarium and heat/light products and to bring in a picture of your vivarium to prove that it has been set up correctly before taking your reptile home and possibly having a home check on your animal and set up? etc) I would actually prefer it. It shows that the store cares for the sake of their animals and don't just see them as a price tag. With that mentality I would conclude that the store takes good care of their animals and I don't think I would buy from a place that treats them like stuffed animals.
How far would you be willing to travel to purchase a reptile from a trustworthy store? This depends on the reptile I would be purchasing. Such as a milk snake I'm willing to travel to Northern VA and southern PA I will go state wide. If it were something like a green anole I don't think I would leave my county.

 

[RolandKyramere]

FOR REPTILE OWNERS ONLY:
Age? 20's
Gender? F
Nationality? American
Income (to the closest 10,000) Poor starving college student
Number of household members? 1
Location? (County/State) Upper Midwest
What reptile(s) do you own? 3 bearded dragons, 2 new caledonian crested geckos
Would you be interested or have you purchased any specialist morphs? If so, what? Yes. I would like to buy a specialty morph beardie when I have more space
Are there any reptile brands that you would purchase over others? Zoo med
How often do you spend money on your reptile? Bi weekly, or more
Do you prefer to purchase your live feeders from a store or have them delivered to your house address? Both
What would you most like to see in a specialist reptile store that is not seen in general pet stores? Specialized live feeders such as silkworms and phoenix worms. I like the idea about seeing the parents.

 

[jortiz9758]

FOR REPTILE OWNERS ONLY:
Age?40
Gender?Male
Nationality?Ecuadorian
Income (to the closest 10,000)
Number of household members?3
Location? (County/State)Florida,Broward County
What reptile(s) do you own? 2 Bearded Dragons - 2 Uromastyx
Would you be interested or have you purchased any specialist morphs? If so, what? Yes, a Blood Red
Are there any reptile brands that you would purchase over others? No. So long as they come from reputable companies I'm not to picky.
How often do you spend money on your reptile? once a week for veggies. once a month for worms.
Do you prefer to purchase your live feeders from a store or have them delivered to your house address? From a store
What would you most like to see in a specialist reptile store that is not seen in general pet stores? A much wider variety of feeders like roaches ,hornworms,phoenix,silkies,supers. I like the idea of being able to walk in and see a variety and be able to offer them a change.
How far would you be willing to travel to go to a pet store that you trust? 20 miles...I do it now once a month.