With pet parents proving to be a digitally engaged group, often willing to splurge, DoorDash is taking advantage of the on-demand delivery opportunity to expand consumer use of its retail offerings.
The nation’s leading aggregator announced Tuesday (Feb. 27) a same-day delivery partnership with Pet Supplies Plus, the largest independent pet retailer in the United States, to deliver on-demand from the chain’s 720 stores.
“Since launching the Pets vertical in 2020, DoorDash has more than 400,000 pet products available for on-demand delivery,” DoorDash VP of New Verticals Fuad Hannon said in a statement. “We’re excited to expand our selection even further with the addition of Pet Supplies Plus to the Marketplace.”
The aggregator’s Pets arm covers major retailers including Petco and PetSmart. Competitors, too, are looking to tap into the lucrative pet supply eCommerce opportunity, with Uber Eats adding PetSmart to its platform last year, and with Shipt and Instacart also delivering from Petco and PetSmart.
These efforts to rein in consumer pet spending come as consumers prove willing to splurge on their fur babies in ways they wouldn’t for themselves. According to data from the PYMNTS Intelligence study “Consumer Inflation Sentiment Report: Consumers Cut Back by Trading Down,” 33% of consumers switched to a cheaper merchant for personal care products, and 32% downgraded their snacks, but only 19% of grocery shoppers switched to cheaper merchants for food and pet supplies.
Additionally, pet parents tend to be digitally engaged. Findings from last year’s PYMNTS study “Changes in Grocery Shopping Habits and Perceptions” revealed that only 27% of those who buy pet supplies do so primarily at physical stores. that shop. This share is far lower than the cross-grocery-category average of 44%.
In fact, eCommerce channels are increasingly taking share from brick-and-mortar pet stores. PYMNTS Intelligence’s report “The Replenish Economy: A Household Supply Deep Dive,” drawn from a survey of more than 2,000 US consumers, revealed that 15% of retail subscribers participating in Chewy’s Goody Box pet food and toy subscription program, 53% now shop in stores more often, with 11% of program participants no longer shopping in stores for these items.
Additionally, of the 14% of retail subscribers enrolled in BarkBox, the study found, 43% shop in stores more often, and 2% don’t need to shop in stores anymore.
On Tuesday (Feb. 27), for example, direct-to-consumer (D2C) meat and seafood brand ButcherBox announced its expansion into pet food, treats and supplements, including its new ButcherBox for Pets line. Additionally, earlier this month it was reported that British eGrocer Ocado was acquiring pet food, launching “fine dining” foods for cats and dogs.
Also last year, D2C meal kit giant HelloFresh announced its new dog food subscription, The Pets Table, promising “human-grade” meals as part of the company’s push to become the leading “fully integrated food solutions group” in the world.
DoorDash’s new partnership marks the latest step in a growing trend of aggregators taking advantage of the lucrative opportunities presented by digitally engaged pet parents. With competitors also vying for this market share, the move toward on-demand delivery of pet products reflects a broader consumer trend of prioritizing spending on pets, even in the midst of economic challenges.
