The pet category is booming. Booming more than ever, one might say.
In fact, the global pet care market has reached $235.32 billion and is expected to continue to grow from $246.66 billion in 2023 to around. $368.88 billion by 2030.
But how did we get here?
The pandemic and the growing interest in pet ownership have pushed people to consider their furry companions as members of the family. This change has generated an increased demand for stylish pet accessories, high-quality pet food, and excellent health care. Recognizing this trend is Chewy, which has expanded its services beyond eCommerce.
In 2020 it launched telehealth services. “Visiting a local vet continues to be a challenge for many pet parents these days,” Chewy CEO Sumit Singh stated at the time of announcement.
Read more: Chewy Launches Telehealth Service For Pets & Vet
But now, the company is taking pet health even further and plans to open its first veterinary clinic. early this year designed to offer personalized veterinary services for Chewy’s customers, partners and shareholders.
The news was shared during the company’s Investor Day at the New York Stock Exchange on December 14.
In a conversation with PYMNTS, Mita Malhotra, president at Chewy Health, delves into the company’s motivations behind this new venture and what consumers can expect.
Why Pet Health
“Chewy has seen very positive, early pet parent interest in Chewy Vet Care. Through our research, we found that customers viewed opening veterinary clinics as a natural extension of the range of services that we should provide and what they expect from Chewy,” Malhotra said.
Singh said in November that changes in consumer behavior present a huge opportunity for Chewy to solidify its position as a leader in online pet retail. He emphasized that pet owners are now prioritizing consumables and health products over traditional hard goods.
“In the past it used to be $80 on consumables and health, and $20 on hard goods,” Singh said. “That $20 has essentially moved away from hard goods, and most of it is now being spent on consumables and health.”
Data was also presented in PYMNTS’ Consumer Inflation Sentiment series, “Consumer Inflation Sentiment Report: Consumers Cut Down Through Lower Trading,” found that during that time, 47% of all shoppers opted for a more budget-friendly retailer for at least one grocery item.
And when it comes to personal care products, 33% reported being traded down, and for snacks, 32%. However, when it comes to pet food and supplies, only 19% of grocery shoppers switch to cheaper merchants.
Consumers seek and maintain the best for their pets when it comes to food and supplies, but PYMNTS’ hunch can be assumed to be the same when it comes to their health.
What Buyers Can Expect
“Chewy Vet Care practices are thoughtfully designed to delight pets, pet parents and care providers,” said Malhotra.
“Our practices will offer gold standard medical care combined with advanced technology, connecting all aspects of the Chewy pet care ecosystem with a personalized customer experience. Customers can expect to feel the same “Chewy magic” across our practices that we’ve delivered for over a decade in our core businesses.”
Malhotra said Chewy Vet Care is all about providing veterinary services that meet the needs of both customers and partners.
“We will open practices beginning in 2024 in select United States markets with high rates of pet ownership and Chewy customer density. Our first pilot location is in Chewy’s hometown in South Florida,” Malhotra said.
Creating an Omnichannel Experience
“At Chewy Vet Care, we’re leveraging all of the B2C and B2B pet health and wellness offerings that Chewy has spent years developing and bundling them together for use within our own ecosystem,” said by Malhotra.
By leveraging their proprietary tech stack within a custom-designed footprint, Chewy aims to unlock complementarities to reach the full potential of its healthcare infrastructure, Malhotra said.
And when it comes to B2B partnerships, Malhotra said, “What’s most exciting about the Chewy Health story is that we’re building an ecosystem that spans both B2C products and services made for customers and B2B products designed to support and advance the veterinary community,” Malhotra said.
“Over the past 5 years, we have purposely built this entire ecosystem as an “open to all ecosystem” that our partners can fully use. Not many teams can innovate at the speed we need to build something completely proprietary and radically different that unlocks value for customers and vets.”
Today, Chewy Health is a $3 billion revenue business, and according to Malhotra, it’s “just getting started.”
