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- Don’t Put All Your Eggs in One Channel | Pets and Trends Newsletter
Don’t Put All Your Eggs in One Channel | Pets and Trends Newsletter
PLUS: PetSmart Leverages AI to Enhance Tailored Loyalty Program
Zihan Lyu
April 16, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes
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Welcome to Pets and Trends, your essential newsletter for pet product marketers and eCommerce professionals.
Sector Spotlight 🎥
INNOVATIVE LOYALTY STRATEGIES
PetSmart's use of AI in its Treat Rewards program has significantly boosted offer activation by 22% and encouraged higher spending among members. This revamped loyalty program, featuring personalized deals and AI-driven insights, is critical for PetSmart, tying 90% of transactions to Treat Rewards accounts. With the pet market showing resilience, offering value through tailored offers enhances customer loyalty in competitive environments.
BUSINESS EXPANSION
360 Pet Nutrition's new partnership with Walmart significantly broadens their retail reach, presenting a strategic opportunity for growth in the pet food market. This collaboration is particularly relevant for marketing professionals who seek to understand the expanding influence of mass-market retail channels in distributing innovative pet nutrition solutions. This move aligns with the growing consumer demand for sustainable and nutritionally balanced pet food options.
SUSTAINABLE PET NUTRITION
BioCraft Pet Nutrition and Prefera Petfood have partnered to create a hypoallergenic, cell-cultured cat food that mirrors natural diets, offering an environmentally sustainable alternative to traditional meat. This collaboration highlights a breakthrough in achieving high inclusion levels of cell-cultured ingredients, presenting a significant opportunity in the pet food market. Their upcoming demonstration at Zoomark International will provide industry insights into this innovative approach.
RETAIL CAMPAIGN
Amazon Pet Day 2025, scheduled for May 13-14, offers a strategic opportunity for marketers targeting pet owners, with significant discounts on a wide range of pet products. This 48-hour event is crucial for leveraging Amazon's extensive reach and fast delivery options to enhance customer engagement and drive sales in the pet supplies sector. Prime members benefit from exclusive deals, making it essential for marketers to factor in these incentives when planning campaigns aimed at this audience.
MARKETING SUCCESS
Niche pet communities demand personalized products and authentic engagement, differentiating savvy businesses from competitors. By aligning with influencers, attending specialized events, and embracing customization, brands can foster loyalty and drive sustainable growth. Understanding these community dynamics is crucial for marketing success in the pet industry.
Expert Insights 🧠
How US-China Trade Tensions Are Shaping Pet Industry Supply Chains and Pricing
Trade tensions between the US and China are rewriting the rules for pet brands, especially those scaling through DTC and digital channels. Tariffs as high as 145% on key ingredients and packaging have forced brands to rethink sourcing, pricing, and even their core value propositions. The immediate impact is clear: higher costs are squeezing margins, and many brands—particularly smaller, agile DTC players—face tough choices about passing costs to consumers or absorbing them to protect loyalty.
But the real story is in how leading pet brands are responding. Instead of simply shifting suppliers, some are leveraging data to predict which SKUs are most price-sensitive and using dynamic pricing to maintain conversion rates. Others are doubling down on retention, using personalized email and SMS to reinforce value and keep pet parents engaged even as prices rise. Subscription models are being reimagined, not just as a revenue stream but as a way to lock in loyalty and smooth out volatility in demand.
Meanwhile, product innovation is accelerating. Brands are exploring sustainable packaging and AI-powered pet tech to differentiate beyond price. The smartest teams are treating this moment as a catalyst: collaborating with influencers to build trust, investing in UGC to drive organic reach, and using omnichannel strategies to balance DTC with marketplace exposure.
For digital marketers and eCommerce leaders, the lesson is clear—agility, data fluency, and a relentless focus on customer experience are now the real competitive advantages in the pet industry’s new normal.
Optimization Hub ⚙️
ACCOUNT-BASED MARKETING
LinkedIn stands out as the premier platform for account-based marketing due to its unmatched targeting capabilities that effectively reach specific companies and roles. Leveraging LinkedIn's tools, such as matched audiences and layered targeting approaches, significantly enhances conversion rates and ROI, as engagement-based strategies increase retargeting prospects by 40%. To maximize LinkedIn's power, marketers should define precise ideal customer profiles and integrate AI-powered tools for dynamic audience optimization.
AI SEARCH STRATEGIES
Google's AI Mode is transforming search by integrating AI-driven, conversational interactions akin to ChatGPT into its platform, reshaping SEO efforts. This demands a focus on generative engine optimization and enhanced content quality, leveraging structured data, and developing authoritative backlinks to remain visible and competitive. AI tools and insights are critical for adapting strategies to this new search paradigm.
AI INVESTMENT STRATEGY
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy underscores the necessity of significant AI investments to enhance customer experiences and maintain competitiveness. With around $8 billion invested in AI startup Anthropic, Amazon integrates AI into its offerings, such as the revamped Alexa voice assistant. This positions the company at the forefront of providing enriched, personalized experiences, serving shareholders and aligning with industry trends.
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