Source: Pawp
Is Walmart Barking Up The Right Tree With TeleVet Service?
Walmart is looking to give pet parents a reason to become Walmart+ members.
The retailer has signed a deal with Pawp, a veterinary telehealth provider, to offer its services to Walmart+ members free for a year, according to CNBC and Reuters.
Walmart+ members have until Nov. 19 to opt into the offer, giving them unlimited 24/7 video or text access to Pawp’s veterinary health pros. The site says members can access help “in under one minute, so you’re never alone if something goes wrong.”
“It’s undeniable that over the past decade, we started thinking and looking at pets as part of the family,” Pawp CEO Marc Atiyeh told CNBC. ”[Walmart has] a very strong thesis around the pet category and yes, they want to be a big player in pet care and pet health in general, and Pawp really allows them to leapfrog the competition and do something that none of the other players have done.”
Remote veterinary services, similar to telehealth for humans, are growing in popularity even as some pet health professionals have warned about the limitations of such services when hands-on care is required to properly diagnose and treat pets.
The Pawp deal enables Walmart to build on its previous moves into pet services. The retailer has partnered with Rover dog walking and sitting services and VetIQ Petcare, which operates veterinary clinics inside 60 stores, according to Talk Business & Politics.
Adding Pawp’s service fits Walmart’s emphasis on price and convenience as the key selling points for Walmart+.
CEO Doug McMillon said on the retailer’s first-quarter earnings call that Walmart+ membership had reached a new high with growth across “income and age cohorts” as consumers responded to its dual value proposition.
Annual Pawp memberships cost $99 and will be wrapped into Walmart+’s $98 fee for opt-in subscribers. Financial details of the deal between the two companies have not been disclosed.
Walmart is not the only pet retailer offering telehealth service options. Chewy’s “Connect With A Vet” chat service is free and available between six a.m. and noon ET. Twenty-minute video calls with a veterinarian are available for $19.99 for active Chewy Autoship or CarePlus insurance members.
Discussion Questions
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: Has Walmart narrowed the value gap with Amazon Prime by adding Paramount+ and Pawp to its Walmart+ plan? Will the addition of Pawp help Walmart gain ground in the pet category?
Poll
Loading …BrainTrust
Dave Wendland
Vice President, Strategic RelationsHamacher Resource Group
Georges Mirza
VP Product Management & Advisory, ComTask
This is a great addition to Walmart’s sprawling Walmart+ plan. Walmart and Amazon appear to be locked in an epic battle for consumer loyalty and while it’s difficult to pick a winner between the two, there is one clear winner and that’s the consumer. Despite the cost cutting and uncertain economic conditions, I expect to see these companies continue to raclette up the loyalty offerings. This addition will make Walmart’s program even more compelling.
This is a big win for Walmart and a step forward in pulling ahead of Amazon. Although I don’t think Paramount+ has the weight of Prime, Pet telehealth is going to be a significant asset to Walmart.
The boom in the pet industry created during the pandemic is one of the most sustainable stories coming out of it. Walmart is almost always out front with new initiatives that are well thought out. This one is just another winner for them.
Up here in Canada, we used a similar service to Pawp, called Vetster. As a pet owner, having immediate access to a vet is at minimum, a major stress reducer.
I can’t tell you how many times over the years I have wished I’d had immediate access to a veterinarian and I know I am not alone.
Every service offers variations of the same thing so this is a smart move by Walmart. If you want to connect with customers fix the needs they didn’t even realize they had.
The key to attracting and retaining customers to membership plans like Walmart+ and Amazon is to prove a broad portfolio of services to make the plan more valuable. Approximately two-third of U.S. households own a pet and offering Pawp’s veterinary telehealth services to Walmart+ members free for a year will be appreciated by many of Walmart’s customers. Pet vet visits are expensive and a hassle. Providing Walmart+ subscribers with unlimited 24/7 video or text access to Pawp’s veterinary health pros is a nice perk.
Walmart+ is a good program, but compared to Amazon Prime it pales into comparison in terms of added-value benefits. The addition of Pawp is the first step in rounding out the offer and should be very appealing to pet parents. In the wider scheme of things, pet services and products is a lucrative and growing category so this partnership also provides Walmart with longer term commercial benefits.
Timely move for Walmart’s expanded reach to its audience. The pet category has been explosive and this underscores Walmart’s commitment to delivering value and increasing its grab for share of this lucrative market.
Walmart keeps adding incremental value to make Walmart+ more attractive and addictive. Grocery and fuel savings, prescriptions, Paramount content and now Pawp boost the desirability of Walmart+.
Adding Pawp solidifies Walmart’s leadership in the pet category.
Walmart continues to solve problems for the whole family, and that problem solving now extends to family pets. Perfect. To me, the hugely important part is that they are doing all this IRL…in real life, not just on-line. It’s the combination of physical stores and ecomm that will make Walmart such a powerful partner in families lives. When, oh when, is Amazon going to develop a more comprehensive brick and mortar presence…??? They are beginning to look like they are behind the curve in developing a more synergistic on-line/off-line strategy.
Adding this service makes a lot of sense for Walmart+ members. The pet category has exploded since the Pandemic and having a resource like Pawp is highly valued and appreciated by pet owners. It does not completely replace a physical visit to a Vet, but give Walmart credit for offering value services within its membership bundle.
Pet owners are very loyal shoppers. It’s a really interesting move by Walmart to compete with Chewy’s . I think it could absolutely help Walmart win over this lucrative group of customers. Will be interesting to see if the experiment works and they acquire Pawp. But just like the ‘Paramount+’ offering, it’s a ‘catch up’ move. Amazon and Chewy’s are the ones innovating.
Providing all the products and extending services to pet owners is a great play, Pet owners are loyal spenders, even in hard times. If a pet owner is going to choose between Amazon Prime and Walmart, the scale just tipped towards Walmart.
Hmmm? I get my Paramount+ on Amazon Prime. Walmart’s offering won’t move me.
On the other hand, the TeleVet service strikes me as a real winner. But what happens after the first year of free membership?
The success of Amazon Prime is that there is thoughtless participation. The user doesn’t have to make decisions. They have created a default mechanism for the participant. I believe Walmart has a good way to go before they reach that position.
Hmmm? I get my Paramount+ on Amazon Prime. Walmart’s offering won’t move me.
On the other hand, the TeleVet service strikes me as a real winner. But what happens after the first year of free membership?
The success of Amazon Prime is that there is thoughtless participation. The user doesn’t have to make decisions. They have created a default mechanism for the participant. I believe Walmart has a good way to go before they reach that position.
Hmmm? I get my Paramount+ on Amazon Prime. Walmart’s offering won’t move me.
On the other hand, the TeleVet service strikes me as a real winner. But what happens after the first year of free membership?
The success of Amazon Prime is that there is thoughtless participation. The user doesn’t have to make decisions. They have created a default mechanism for the participant. I believe Walmart has a good way to go before they reach that position.
The Pawp collaboration expands Walmart’s commitment to family health — including that for “fur families.” The Pet Economy has turbocharged in the pandemic era, and new research reveals that have a pet is healthy — both for physical and financial health in terms of human medical cost savings (think: walking the dog, mental health benefits from pet-love, etc.). Telehealth expands access for pet-owning families, and especially busy moms which is a core constituency of Walmart consumers. Great move!
This is a good idea, but when my dog is sick the only place for me to be is in my vet’s office. I want the vet to look me in the eye and tell me what is happening. Beyond that, if my dog has eaten something that may be of danger to him I suppose a tele-vet may be of help, but I am still going to call my veterinarian.
Catering to Walmart+ members who have pets is a great strategy. If it’s used, the offer of a free year of Pawp will convert to a higher level of membership and emotional connection. People sometimes seem to care more about their pets than their children (I’m kidding – I hope!), so adding this to the Walmart+ experience makes sense. Walmart+ members enrolling in the Pawp program will spend more money in the Walmart pet category.
Pet care service is a good addition in the right direction, but it does not match the Amazon Prime service. The coverage is just too huge to overcome, even for a company like Walmart. Walmart has more to do to reach a wider shopper base.
On paper it looks great. Then again, so did Bonobos, Jet.com and Moosejaw. I know, I know, those were acquisitions but I’m struggling with whether 24/7 vet help is enough to drive Walmart+ signups. It has a bit of “see what sticks” ring to it. Fast, ‘free’ shipping drove Amazon Prime. They then added Prime Video which has content unavailable elsewhere. All the other things in the Amazon Prime basket don’t move the needle like free shipping and originally produced content.
This a great addition to Walmart+. People are passionate about their pets, and getting care can be a challenge, especially since so many pet emergencies happen our site of vet clinic hours. This additional service will certainly make pet owners think about joining the WMT plan.
These additional services are basically creating a Loyalty/Rewards Program where you’re getting multiple benefits for subscribing. With 66% of US households owning pets, I’d say this was a smart move by Walmart. It’s giving peace of mind to pet owners knowing the service is available, even if they never need to use it.
For pet owners, Walmart’s TeleVet services through Pawp will be a significant draw. The pet category has been hot, and Walmart must continue to bring more value for its Walmart+ plan in its fierce competition with Amazon. According to Consumer Intelligence Research Partners, Walmart has a massive membership opportunity and gap with Amazon. Walmart+ hovered around 11.5 million (2022), while Amazon Prime has about 167 million members (2023) with plateauing growth.
This is an ace move. Essentially, it’s about offering a more experience-rich membership. Walmart has realized that retail is no longer about products but about customer association, instant gratification and unique experiences. Having known the company for a while, I know similar robust initiatives are being taken in the backdrop to strengthen its supply chain, sort back-office operations, and enhance employee experience.
Just saw the 2022 numbers for subscription services across e-commerce categories via Insider Intelligence & e-marketer. Home Goods had the highest retention rate (51%), Food & Beverage had the highest lifetime value ($356 – total revenue/customers for a given period), & pets & animals had the best balance of both across categories (33% & $250). Pets & Animals is a smart investment given Walmart’s goals.