Pets at Home expands subscription service to physical stores

Pets at Home is expanding its subscription offering to make it easier for pet parents to get the regular products they buy.

The UK pet retailer has enabled customers to use its Easy Repeat service for more than 3,000 products via its digital platforms, including its website and app. According to the company’s recent earnings release, subscription sales increased 21% year over year.

Now, it is rolling out the service to more than 450 physical stores, enabling customers to benefit from the ease of regular delivery of their pet’s favorite essentials combined with the expertise of its in-store staff.

“Launching Easy Repeat as an in-store as well as online service is a really exciting moment for us,” says Chief Consumer Officer Kathryn Imrie. “Customer feedback is clear: people appreciate the service they receive from our expert colleagues and genuinely love coming into our stores.”

How pet parents want to shop

The company says aligning its services with pet parents’ shopping preferences is a key strategy, along with evolving its omnichannel offering.

Staff can now set up subscriptions for customers in-store using their Pets Club details, providing them access to competitive pricing.

“Easy Repeat demonstrates our strong customer proposition, rewarding customers for loyalty and locking in a best price guarantee,” adds Imrie. “This is also [a] huge moment in our journey toward building a world-class petcare platform as an omnichannel pet care provider, linking online services to the expertise of colleagues in store.”

Pets at Home has been warned of the challenging retail environment and is considering streamlining store management and colleague roles to prepare itself “for the future.”

Subscriptions among pet retailers are increasingly common with PetSmart and Petco in the US, and Zooplus and Fressnapf are among those offering solutions online. However, delivering the service in physical stores is not yet mainstream.