Papers
Afficio Undergraduate Journal
Introducing a Pet Care Service
Winner, Lower Level Business
Author: April Thompson
To: Ava Hayven, Store Manager
From: April Thompson, Store Associate
Date: December 11, 2020
Subject: Requested Report on Introducing a Pet Care Service
As you requested, here is the report identifying viable pet care services that could be introduced at Pet Shop Co-op given restrictions the COVID-19 pandemic has imposed on local businesses. Due to recent financial and safety concerns, our members have been purchasing fewer products for their pets, resulting in a loss of sales for our store. By consulting relevant articles from trade journals such as Employee Benefit News and TCA Regional News, I have discovered several services that could boost our sales. In this report, I examine the feasibility of offering pet grooming, insurance, and food delivery services. After considering the needs and best interests of our members, I recommend pet grooming.
Alternative 1: Offering Pet Grooming Services
The first pet service we might consider increasing Pet Shop Co-op’s sales is the launch of a grooming service for various breeds of cats and dogs. As Phil Barber has indicated in a report to TCA Regional News (2020), the longer fur grows, the more likely it is to tangle and pose an increased risk of health issues due to stress and tear on the pet’s skin. Regular baths and haircuts are therefore important preventative health measures that are essential to pets’ hygiene and well-being. After reviewing our sales in the summer 2020 quarter, Wahl brand brushes, shampoo, and conditioner were among our best selling items when the warm weather made it easiest to wash pets with a hose outdoors; however, come winter, some dog owners opt to clean their pets in a bathtub at home, which can become messy and stressful, while others bring them to professional groomers. By condensing our unprofitable pet toy displays to make room for a 100 square foot salon space, Pet Shop Co-op can thus adapt and provide for our customers’ changing needs.
Estimated costs of offering a grooming service would include $3,500 up-front for the installation and purchase of equipment such as a bath, tiling, table, and $26,000 for the annual salary of a full-time, professional dog groomer. Our current staff could assist the groomer with minimal training and at no additional cost by detangling dogs’ fur and giving baths. Furthermore, by arranging a drop-off point outside our store and ensuring a physical distance of at least two metres between store staff at all times, Nova Scotia public health guidelines would be followed.
Alternative 2: Offering Pet Insurance Plans
Secondly, Pet Shop Co-op could provide pet insurance plans for interested members through our existing website. The COVID-19 pandemic has made many realize the unpredictability of contracting a health condition, disease or virus, and that logic can be extended to our furry friends. While Canadians are fortunate to have a publicly funded health care system, our pets do not. Between check ups, vaccines, and dentistry, veterinary care is costly and insurance would offer relief from unexpected bills. With a monthly charge, members could claim either 50 or 70 percent of the costs of all vaccines, emergency treatments, annual checkups and more, depending on their coverage plan. Outsourcing IT services to add the insurance alternative on the store website would cost up to $1,500.
Given the relative recency of pet insurance policies and the lack of human interaction required to introduce this service, it is an ideal time for Pet Shop to enter the market. Caroline Spiezio reported in an online article for Employee Benefits News (2016) that the pet insurance sector is an emerging market with promising potential for economic growth as over 90% of owners do not currently have any form of insurance for their pets.
Alternative 3: Offering Pet Food Delivery
The third service we might consider is the delivery of pet food by the purchase of a $40 fixed-rate monthly subscription box on our website. With stores becoming potential COVID-19 exposure sites, our customers have been limiting the number of stores they visit by buying their pet’s food at their local grocery store or ordering it online. According to the United Kingdom’s largest pet food delivery company, Oscar Pet Foods Limited (2020), food delivery services are safe for pets and their owners amid the pandemic so long as proper safety protocols are put in place to limit human contact. Nevertheless, pet food sales on our website have decreased due to orders not meeting the minimum requirement for free home shipping. By filling out a questionnaire on our website that identifies their pets’ unique nutritional needs and pre-paying for a customizable, monthly food subscription box for a six-month period, members would save on shipping fees and take the stress out of purchasing their pets’ kibbles, wet food and treats. Pet Shop would gain an estimated profit of $20 per box once product costs and $10 shipping fees are incurred.
Conclusions and Recommendation
To summarize, pet grooming, insurance, and food delivery are all feasible service options that Pet Shop Co-op could introduce to boost our sales during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ultimately, the service I recommend is pet grooming. Although it would require a greater cost up-front, it is a necessary service that will be repeatedly sought by our customers, resulting in a sustained financial gain. By marking a drop-off point for pets at the store’s front entrance, limiting the capacity for staff in the store at once with mandatory masking, and frequent sanitation, we can rest assured that Pet Shop will continue to safely support local pet owners.
The introduction of care services in pet stores in recent years has proven to be profitable and well-liked by pet owners and managers alike. I look forward to launching pet grooming or another of the above-mentioned services at Pet Shop Co-op as I’m confident it will increase our sales during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. Please contact me by email at April.Thompson@PetShop.ca to discuss the first steps we should take to offer a new service to our members.
References
Barber, P. (2020, May 10). Pet owners worried as dog grooming shut down in Sonoma County to slow coronavirus. TCA Regional News. https://www-proquest- com.library.smu.ca/docview/2400548523?accountid=13908
Oscar Pet Foods Limited: Contactless Safe Delivery of Pet Food. (2020, May 12). News Bites –Private Companies. https://www-proquestcom.library.smu.ca/docview/2400722891?accountid=13908
Spiezio, C. (2016). Pet insurance popular with millennials who see animals as family: Pet insurance popular with millennials who see animals as family. Employee Benefit News (Online). https://www-proquest-com.library.smu.ca/docview/1911952551?accountid=13908