Because Pets Don't Shop...
The fall of online pet supply retailing?

On November 7, 2000, the popular online pet supply retailer, pets.com announced that it was closing its virtual doors. Orders from the site will cease as of November 9, 2000. Many people were familiar with this online retailer because of their popular television commercials featuring a sassy sock puppet of a dog. The sock mascot urged people to buy from the site because "pets can't drive".

While many online companies (dotcoms) have suffered in the stock market this year, Pets.com has the dubious honor of being the first publicly traded company to completely close the business.

Huge Supply of Pet Supply sites
When I was still in training for the Guide duties at About (then the Mining Company), I couldn't help but notice the many the online pet supply sites out there. New ones appeared each day, and the sites were huge! Some of the early ones, dogtoys.com and Petopia are still there, while others have merged with other pet retailers - i.e. PetStore.com merging with Pets.com (June 2000), and PetQuarters acquiring WeRPets (April of 2000). Many of these mega sites have/had veterinarians on staff to answer questions, write articles, and help pet owners select appropriate products for their pets. Chat rooms, message boards, and other community areas, such as polls and photo contests are/were available for site visitors, too.

Plenty to offer
These sites offered premium convenience for pet owners, a huge inventory to choose from, online veterinary articles/advice, and attractive graphics to boot. One feature of the online pet supply market that seemed like a great idea to me were programs like Petopia's "bottomless bowl" plan. Sign up, and you were offered a discounted price on the pet food(s) you had selected, AND Petopia would be responsible for making sure Fido's bowl won't ever be empty - shipping regularly scheduled parcels of your selected food to your door. Additionally, in July of 2000, Petopia partnered with Pethealth Inc., a Canadian pet health insurance company, to be able to sell pet insurance online at the Petopia site.

So why the fall?
With the abundance of products and services offered, why are giants like pets.com closing their virtual doors? Do people prefer shopping in traditional "brick and mortar" stores after all? I know that shipping 40-50 pounds of dog food or cat litter has to add up cost-wise, and there isn't a large profit margin built into those products as it is. Also, if you decide to buy a new leash and collar for your dog, most pet supply stores, like PetsMart and PetCo allow you to bring your dog in the store to try out products - make sure they fit, look good, and that your pet is pleased with your selection. This can be hard to do online.

PetCo and Petopia may have merged the best of both worlds -- brick and mortar (PetCo) and online (Petopia). Time will tell if this is a viable combination for both markets.

What is your opinion?
Do you shop online? Why or why not? Share your experiences in the forum - good and bad, to help others decide what is the best shopping choice for them and their pets. Thanks for your time and input!

Related Links
MORE - News about the closing of pets.com
Pets.com
Petopia
PetsMart
PetCo
PetQuarters
MORE Online Pet Supply Vendors

Text: Copyright © Janet Tobiassen Crosby. All rights reserved.

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