Chewy is the largest ecommerce pet retailer in the U.S.
A public company majority-owned by private equity firm BC Partners (which also owns PetSmart), Chewy’s mission is to be the most trusted and convenient destination for pet parents and partners everywhere.
Chewy considers itself to be the preeminent online source for high-quality pet products, services, and veterinary prescriptions, which the company offers at competitive prices and delivers with both an exceptional level of care and a personal touch designed to drive repeat purchase and build brand loyalty.
The ecommerce leader continually seeks to develop innovative ways of engaging with customers, using websites and mobile apps to let pet owners manage their animals’ health, wellness, and product needs while enabling them to conveniently shop for products.
Chewy partners with approximately 3,200 brands in the pet marketplace, but also manufactures and markets private-label products. Shoppers can choose from roughly 130,000 products and services through the websites and apps, which Chewy believes also deliver a high-level shopper-centric experience.
To drive ongoing growth, Chewy is investing in several key areas that pet brands should consider leveraging as they seek to work more closely — and more effectively — with this critical retail partner. Here are six recommendations from Mars United’s Chewy team, which develops and executes winning strategies for some of the pet category’s best and most-trusted brands.
1. Partner here first. Bring new, creative, and ownable ideas and products to Chewy. Go above and beyond standard partnership requirements by sharing market learnings and Chewy will reciprocate. Lean in with test-and-learns and be flexible about evaluating the results from awareness, conversion, and trial efforts.
2. Set up your digital shelf perfectly. From your PDPs (product detail pages) to your keywords, ensure that your onsite content is dynamic and engaging.
3. Plan for excellence through the mail. Build your product and packaging configurations to efficiently succeed within a complex supply chain.
4. Get behind autoship. About 80% of Chewy’s sales occur through autoship orders, making this a key priority for the company and, therefore, your brand.
5. Understand the Chewy algorithm. Invest beyond the short-term sales cycle to focus on long-term shopper loyalty.
6. Organize your internal team. Doing so will make it easier to work with Chewy’s matrixed organization — from Chewy Ads to Chewy Merchandising to Chewy Marketing. Meet across these functions often to ensure and maintain connectivity.
To learn more about Chewy.com and how Mars United can help you win with this critical retailer, contact Meghan Heltne at [email protected].
