(Photo credit @jaywennington)
Many of you know that I got a new rescue dog this summer (cute photos of her!) and being the tech nerd that I am, I am always looking for new ways to entertain her, feed her and generally spoil her rotten. Given all the anxiety-raising news right now, I decided to focus on the enjoyable & lucrative “pet tech” space for this week, with a few gratuitous pet video links included!
#techtopic
Yes, Americans spend a ridiculous amount on their pets: almost $100 billion in 2019, up from $66 billion in 2016. About one-third is spent on pet food & treats, another third on vet care, 20% on OTC medicine/supplements and 10% on other services. First, let’s consider the ecommerce pet food/treats/toys side. Some may remember Pets.com from the late 1990s as an early tech company who tried to capitalize on making it easier to purchase pet food online - but their business model was hugely flawed (consumers weren’t ready to buy online and the shipping costs for big bags were enormous). Now, Chewy.com is often heralded as the online marketplace to purchase pet products and it IPO’d in Jun 2019. The pandemic has been good for Chewy's business (owned by Petsmart), and this week, they launched a new telemedicine service for vets to connect with pet owners for ‘tele-triage.’ The new service is free to Chewy autoship subscribers - and we’ll see if this value-add helps keep consumers subscribed!
In terms of services, Rover and Wag are very popular apps that help connect pet owners to dog walkers/sitters. As a user of Rover, I found Wag annoying in that I wasn’t able to choose who takes care of my pet (they would “match” me to whoever is available & meets my basic criteria). Wag succumbed to the lure of Softbank investment, taking $300 million in 2017, and was looking for a buyer in fall 2019. Rover was flourishing (purchasing competitors & expanding into Europe & LatAm) until covid caused layoffs this spring.
And human owners also want to keep track of their pet’s health stats, steps walked, etc -- so pet wearables have a passionate niche market. Whistle is probably the best known brand among the trackers, but there are many on the market. You can even get your pet’s DNA report to figure out if she’s really a purebred pet! If you want to spoil your pet, I suggest checking out the latest pet tech innovations.
This video brings all the feels: Corgi living his best life
