Pets at Home boss Peter Pritchard: Pets ‘playing bigger part’ in life after lockdown

The pet retailer saw a 12% rise in Puppy and Kitten club members in the 16 weeks to July 16 and a “material increase” in sign-ups to its veterinary services, as more people made the decision to purchase pets in lockdown.

“Pets are very much a part of a person’s lifestyle, so I think as we see lifestyles change and evolve [due to lockdown] it’s inevitable that pets will play a bigger part,” said Pritchard.

“One of the biggest trends we will see is as more people live by themselves or in smaller households, they will choose a cat or a dog specifically for companionship. That’s a trend we’ve seen over the last couple of years that has been accelerated during lockdown and I think it’s here to stay.”

In response, Pets at Home has extended its services and proposition, preparing to meet customers wherever and however they choose to shop during the pandemic and beyond.

“We have focused on the changing consumer environment and we’ve had to be very rapid at changing our business to serve their needs,” Pritchard said.

“Omnichannel reflects how customers want to shop – both in-store and online – and both channels for us are currently in growth and we’ve seen a massive step forward over the last 16 weeks.”

Pets at Home has upgraded its click-and-collect options to include a call and deliver to car service where customers can collect items without leaving their vehicles, which it will rollout to more stores in the near future.

It has also planned to introduce an order and collect within one hour service from October, as it has overhauled its systems to allow pick and pack from store rather than a centralised distribution centre. 

Like retailers such as Dixons Carphone and John Lewis, Pets at Home has turned to online consultations as part of its new normal, offering telemedicine – either by phone or video call – to its veterinary clients, which it will now offer as a permanent service.

The retailers plan to build a 670,000 sq foot purpose-built distribution space in Stafford is the culmination of this omnichannel approach, which lockdown has accelerated. 

Pritchard added: “The new distribution centre is something we’ve been working on for some time. Our plan is to condense two distribution centres into one new state-of-the-art centre that can give us maximum flexibility to be able to serve customers however they want to be served, whether that be through stores or direct to their homes. All our stock will be in one place and it’s going to bee a very modern facility with the benefit of all the latest technology, automation and space.”