Shopify Unlocks Pet Brands’ Cross-Border Growth

Plus: Nulo doubles down on minimally processed cat meals

Author

Avinash Duggempudi
August 20, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes

Here's what's happening this week in the world of pet DTC and eCommerce:
- Shopify streamlines cross-border; Impact Dog Crates surges.
- Nulo drops hydration-forward, gently cooked cat meals.
- The new rules of pet care marketing
- Luna Rose refines shoppable video plus affiliate play.

💸 The $200B Miscalculation Marketers Can’t Afford

On stage at eTail Boston, Fospha’s Chief Product Officer, Dom Devlin, warned that retail’s reliance on last-click metrics is outdated, and it’s costing brands $200 billion in under-credited sales.

The missed connection is clear: shoppers often discover on TikTok, Meta, or Snap, but complete their purchase on Amazon, Walmart, or Target. Traditional attribution frameworks rarely connect those dots. As a result, channels that spark demand are stripped of credit, while budgets overweight the “closers” - whether or not they truly created the sale.

Dom called this the bottom-of-funnel trap: over-investing in channels that finish the purchase while underfunding those that generate demand. The fallout is higher acquisition costs and shrinking pipelines of future customers.

Fospha’s Halo platform was built to break that cycle. By integrating marketplace and DTC sales into one unified ROAS, it captures the full impact of discovery spend across the funnel. For brands like Nécessaire and Give Me Cosmetics, that visibility has unlocked the confidence to double down on demand generation while protecting profitability.

📥Download Fospha’s Halo Report to see how leaders are funding growth where it really starts.

📌WEEKLY MUST-KNOWS

Impact Dog Crates enabled Shopify Managed Markets to localize pricing, pre-collect duties and taxes, and remove customs friction, delivering 164% YoY global sales growth and a 77% conversion lift. The case shows how platform-led localization can unlock cross-border demand for bulky pet goods without heavy ops overhead. DTC pet brands, logistics teams, and performance marketers scaling internationally are most affected.

Nulo introduced protein-rich, gently cooked meals for cats in 3.5 oz packs, highlighting hydration, low carbs, and retail-friendly packaging that reduces reliance on cold-chain DTC. This move aligns with premium, minimally processed nutrition trends while giving retailers a clear merchandising story. Competitors in premium cat nutrition, retail buyers, and DTC formulators should note the positioning shift.

PET CARE MARKETING
Brandon’s 2025 Playbook: Love-Driven Branding
Brandon has released its 2025 playbook highlighting “love-driven branding” as the new rulebook for pet care marketers. The report shows how emotional connection, trust, and authentic storytelling are reshaping consumer expectations in the category. For brands, this means shifting from purely functional messaging to building bonds that feel personal and enduring — driving both loyalty and long-term growth.

🧐 What Does Brand Building Really Mean in eCommerce?

I had an engaging conversation with Alex Brownsell for the latest episode of the WARC Podcast. | Sam Carter, CEO at Fospha

We discussed where most brands get it wrong when it comes to brand building, with bad measurement and poor organizational structure amongst the biggest contributing factors - and how Fospha is aiming to solve the biggest questions around brand measurement with Glow.

Thanks Alex and team again for having me (and for offering a brief airconditioned respite from the intense heat and chaos of Cannes!)

⚡QUICK READS

Inside Rexie’s World: How America’s Top Differently-Abled Pet Influencer Built A Joyful Business Model: Rexie expands beyond social into merchandising and licensing, signaling brand-safe, inclusive creator IP that boosts affinity and conversion for cause-led campaigns.(More)

How Winky The Dwarf Cat Built A Cheerful Pet Influencer Business Model In The USA: Winky leans into high-margin collectibles and platform monetization, offering a hedge against algorithm volatility through owned IP and merchandise.(More)

ClickZ is a ClickZ Media publication in the DTC eCommerce division