In business, keeping a tab on the market leaders and the leading brands is always a good idea.  These companies or brands or organisations could be from any part of the world. One such industry where this piece of advice is very relevant in this decade is the pet retail industry and the brand in focus is Chewy.

Chewy is an American eCommerce retail brand with flagship specialisation in pet food and other pet-related products. It is a retail platform that works with renowned and trusted retail brands. For the convenience of reading, pet retail brands and businesses (including Chewy) have been referred to as store/stores in this blog.

This blog presents a perspective of the factors that help Chewy in customer acquisition and retention with the objective of drawing meaningful business insights for consideration by emerging pet retail and eCommerce businesses.

Wide Range of Products

Chewy is a brand with a wide range of product offerings making it an umbrella shopping hub. It helps Chewy attract customers with diverse needs and priorities for their pets. A nationwide distribution and fulfilment network gives the eCommerce brand access to markets from almost all over the United States. Furthermore, Chewy also has delivery services catering to a few markets in neighbouring Canada.

Having an extensive assortment helps companies attract and retain customers. It gives the image of an all-under-one-roof shopping destination to the stores of such brands. Customers derive convenience by getting their diverse needs covered in one place under one roof. A diversified assortment also lends specialisation to such stores.

In competitive pet retail markets like that of Dubai, having an extensive product mix can provide the much-needed brand image of being a specialised omnichannel store.

Round-The-Clock Customer Support

Chewy is a brand that provides round-the-clock customer support services over the phone, live chat, and email. Such flexibility helps Chewy remain accessible to all types of customers with varying work schedules and lifestyles. For example, customers who work daytime shifts may find it flexible to cover pet-related chores in the evenings. So, for them, having access to customer support after 5 PM comes in handy. 24/7 customer support also becomes a necessity for handling urgent or emergency requirements. For example, unanswered questions on medicine dosages may delay medical care to pets – something that could create frustration for customers towards stores or sellers.

As seasoned eCommerce business consultants, YRC underscores the importance of giving customers control over access to customer support systems as it provides a great deal of reassurance to customers.

Customisation of Offerings

Giving special offers to new customers may sound like a predictable strategy but having it there itself makes the first impact and doing it better, makes the difference. Chewy offers gift cards and free shipping to new customers on their first purchase after their bill amount reaches a stipulated value. Experienced online business consultants would not deny that offerings tailored for new customers have higher chances of favourably influencing the purchasing decisions of non-customers visiting or exploring online stores.

When auto-shipping for the first time, Chewy offers special discounts to both new and existing customers with additional discounts on auto-ship orders for selected brands on Chewy. Customers do not tend to easily go for the ‘auto-shipping’ option. They prefer taking their time in making their evaluations. Once they are convinced, the effects of auto-shipping offers begin to show. There is no way to foretell when such a stage of conviction comes but offers do give a nudge to such convictions to convert into subscriptions. With the right value propositions consistently delivered, it takes a very strong reason to unsubscribe from auto-shipping and disturb the status quo.

Strategic Shipping Charges

The shipping or delivery tariff within industries often tends to be similar. Even in the case of Chewy, the tariff patterns are not very different from the globally observed eCommerce standards.

Generally, shipping charges are waived after orders reach a certain fixed value. What Chewy and possibly a few other eCommerce brands do differently here is that the shipping charges are turned into a flat rate for order values below the aforementioned fixed value/amount.

YRC gauges the effectiveness of such a tariff strategy yielding in two ways. Firstly, there is an encouragement to customers to buy more so that they can save on shipping charges. Businesses can develop the advantage in terms of condensed cost per article in cost per order. Secondly, irrespective of their location, customers need not care about being charged differently for the distance.

For any normal eCommerce, delivery charges should be zero or at least, minimal otherwise it hampers the notion of eCommerce. A combination of flat and free delivery charges lends uniformity and simplicity to delivery tariffs making purchasing decisions easier for potential as well as existing customers.

A Generous Return Window

Chewy gives a liberal return period of almost a year (365 days) with a no-questions-asked policy. Although prescription medications do not come under the purview of this particular return policy, wrong items received or orders received in a damaged state are eligible for refund or replacement on a case-to-case basis. Even with this exclusion of medication products, customers still stand to benefit from such a generous return window opportunity given that Chewy has an extensive range of product offerings other than medication products. This is an extraordinary feature and cannot be easily found everywhere. It lends Chewy a strong competitive edge as it gives a sense of reassurance to buyers.

Superlative UX

Chewy offers a highly user-friendly eCommerce web and app to its customers. User-friendliness and UX can be broad terms, so let us understand this over a few important factors. User-friendliness and user experience (UX) are broad terms, so let us understand this over a few important parameters. To begin with, the brand’s eCommerce portal is neat and organised, to say the least. Coming to the navigation factor, it is highly intuitive with an unambiguous and logical framework of content and actionable tabs. The top bar features essential user elements like search, login, shopping cart, product and service sections, and current deals and offers. Exploring the website never gave any sense of disruption to the flow and presentation of information from the perspective of a shopping journey. Towards the bottom, the portal provides links to the brand’s social pages, customer helplines, app downloads, and other general information.

Another important parameter in any eCommerce website is its product pages. The product pages on Chewy’s eCommerce portal clearly show that it was adequately and meticulously done. Each product page covered the product title with a small description, name of the product brands, overall customer ratings, product-related FAQs, product variations, high-quality images, price and purchase options, product description (overview, ingredient particulars, feeding instructions, etc.), additional information about the product brand, and customer reviews and ratings.

The essence of UX is not about doing something galactic but doing it in the best possible way in light of contemporary standards. It makes the online part of the shopping journey easier for customers and paves the way for their return.

Wrapping Up

How many brands and businesses that are 10 or 15 years old have become household names? Chewy is one of them and that is why it is a brand that is worth looking up to. It has become a leading pet retail brand in the United States and Canada – two large and intensely competitive pet (retail and eCommerce) markets.

Chewy’s wide distribution network and extensive range of product offerings make it a specialised shopping destination – helping it draw a large base of customers with varied needs and priorities.

Chewy’s round-the-clock customer support services provide enormous convenience and flexibility making it easier for all types of customers with varying work schedules and lifestyles.

Superlative UX and a generous year-long return window are two more magnetic features of the brand making shopping easier with a sense of reassurance.

The business insights drawn from successful stories are not meant for replication but for applied improvisation.

About Your Retail Coach

YRC is a retail and eCommerce consulting firm with a growing international footprint including in the Middle East. YRC has more than 10 years of experience in delivering solutions to 500+ clients from over 25 industries with a triumph ratio of 95%.

To speak to a professional pet business consultant, feel free to drop us a message and we will shortly reach out to you.

To learn more about our pet business consulting services or general online business solutions, and Get advise for E-commerce retail business : https://www.yourretailcoach.ae/contact-us/