Walmart Tackles Pet Parent Market With Dodo Partnership

Walmart
WMT
t is looking to expand its reach into the pet category with a collaboration with animal-centric media company The Dodo.

The retailer announced today that it is selling apparel, toys, accessories and other products for dogs chosen by the editors of The Dodo, a division of Vox Media and the most-watched content creator about animals. pets and animals around the world, with 115 million social media followers. media.

Walmart hopes the collection, which is sold in select Walmart stores and online at Walmart.com, will further convince new generations of dog owners to consider Walmart as a one-stop destination for fun items as well as basics like food. . .

So far, the collaboration has only produced products for dogs, but a line for cats may follow.

In addition to the new merchandise, Walmart Insurance Services will also begin offering The Dodo’s pet insurance program, Fetch by The Dodo.

Walmart is already taking a significant share of the $124 billion Americans spent on pets last year, but partnering with The Dodo could give it increased access to Millennials and Gen Z pet owners.

Pet specialty retailers like Petco, Pet Smart and Chewy have increasingly made “pet parents” – pet owners who pamper their dogs and cats like well- loved ones by the family – their marketing target. In collaboration with The Dodo, Walmart is making a game for pet parents who are price conscious but still want to pamper their pets.

97% of The Dodo audience have pets and 95% consider pets to be members of their family, YuJung Kim. group editor at The Dodo, said.

With this collaboration, she said, The Dodo was looking to partner with a retailer “where buying a pet is as seamless as buying any other family member.” .

“That’s why for us, it was really a no-brainer to collaborate with Walmart,” said YuJung Kim.

While Walmart has partnered with other pet brands in the past, this collaboration is unique because of the high level of involvement in product selection by pet-obsessed members of The Dodo and Walmart teams, said said Melody Richard, vice president, pets, Walmart US.

“This is truly a collection made by pet parents, for pet parents,” Richard said. The collection was designed not only with the best for the pet in mind, she said, but also with a focus on what makes life easier for the pet parent. animal, with products such as an easier to put on dog raincoat or dinner. bowl that slows down dogs that swallow their food too quickly.

Walmart also offers a “Walmart Pet Lover’s Box with the Dodo” that can be ordered once or as a repeat monthly order, with a different seasonally-themed assortment each month.

Individual products are priced from $5 to $20, and the Animal Lovers Box is $19.99.

With the Animal Lover’s Box, Walmart and The Dodo are working to offer “something that will be the best value on the market,” with toys, treats and other surprises, Richard said.

“What we need to be able to bring to customers is affordability and accessibility,” she said.

The collection is sold in approximately 1,600 Walmart stores, about one-third the number of Walmart stores in the United States.

Richard said expanding into cat products would likely be the next step.

“We know we have a lot of cat moms and dads who are probably saying, ‘How about we? “, She said.

“If customers react the way we think they will, we’re really optimistic about what the future could be for The Dodo and Walmart,” Richard said.