Articles about opportunities in the pet retail business often make me scratch my head. How can retailers get so excited and veterinary hospitals remain blasé’. For nearly 15 years, veterinarians have been offered opportunities to use various home delivery platforms to auto-fulfill standing prescriptions, brand diversity in large categories and specialty products. Yet, these platforms are used at a very low percentage of their potential, according distribution sources.
Source: Pet Product News International, March 2016, page 30.
Subscription programs are playing an increasing role in the procurement of pet products online. Auto-replenishment convenience with direct delivery is a major draw and suppliers/retailers get the benefit of using ground because the order is pre-planned.
INSIGHTS: Home delivery options advocated by veterinary hospitals will improve client satisfaction and likely improve compliance. To date, most home delivery adoption seems to be in the food animal sector where distributors drop ship to producers on the veterinarians’ behalf. Issues of title transfer, collection and changes in the way COGS are calculated still dominate objections, not to mention when veterinary staff members are compensated on production.