Recently, Petco saw increased foot traffic as consumers continued to care for pets adopted during the pandemic adoption surge. And in 2022, Petco launched a small-town rural concept – Neighborhood Farm & Pet Supply – to serve suburban pet owners and farmers. We dove back into the location analytics for Petco and Neighborhood Farm & Pet Supply stores to take a closer look at how the company and its newest concept are faring in 2023.
Leading the Pack
While inflation has impacted consumer behavior on pet spending in recent months, many clearly see their animal companions as part of the family and return to spoiling them with grooming, toys and treats as confidence in the state of the economy grows. Petco’s pet wellness and omnichannel ecosystem likely contributes to the chain’s success in the pet supplies space by letting mission-driven shoppers take care of all of their pets' needs in one stop. As the economic climate continues to improve, Petco should continue to be a preferred choice in the pet supplies category.
Since January 2023, Petco has outperformed the Pet Store & Services Industry in foot traffic growth. And at the end of Q2 – June 2023 – year-over-year (YoY) visits to Petco reached 4.3% visit growth compared to 2022.
And although visits to the Pet Stores & Services category as a whole lagged in July 2023 – perhaps due to customers stocking up on supplies during online sales events – Petco continued outperforming the wider industry.
From Fish to Farm
Since launching its Neighborhood Farm & Pet Supply chain in rural and small markets over a year ago, Petco has continued to expand the concept. Neighborhood Farm & Pet Supply enables Petco to reach consumers familiar with the Petco brand that may have migrated to smaller markets during the pandemic while also catering to a new clientele of consumers in the farming and livestock professions.
Trade Area Analysis using the AGS: Behavior & Attitudes and Demographic Dimensions datasets revealed that Neighborhood Farm & Pet Supply is succeeding in reaching its target audience of pet owners and farmers. In H1 2023, the residents of Neighborhood Farm & Pet Supply’s potential market were 8% more likely to be pet owners of any type than the nationwide average for the general Petco chain (1%). Neighborhood Farm & Pet Supply’s trade area also had a relatively higher share of dog owners (12%) and cat owners (10%) than the nationwide average and Petco (1%).
The data also suggests that Neighborhood Farm & Pet Supply has the unique potential to drive traffic from residents in the Farming, Fishing, and Forestry occupations. In H1 2023, the potential markets of Neighborhood Farm & Pet Supply venues had a higher share of residents in this segment than both the nationwide average and the wider Petco chain by 19%.
This indicates that the smaller-format Neighborhood Farm & Pet Supply enables Petco to reach markets with a relatively higher share of pet and farm-invested consumers and hone in on a target audience in a way that it doesn’t with traditional Petco stores.
The Last Wag
Pets and their owners are inseparable, and chains like Petco answer the growing demand for convenient total pet care. Petco’s Neighborhood Farm & Pet Supply has the potential to reach untapped markets of pet owners and farming professionals and is likely to draw more consumers to the Petco brand as the concept expands.
For updates and more data-driven foot traffic insights, visit Placer.ai.
