Love Your Pet: Chewy.com Prevails Over Petsmart.com and Petco.com

There is a special day for just about anything: Did you know that Love Your Pet Day was on February 20? Even though most pet owners don’t need an extra reminder to love their animal friend – the success of online stores for pet merchandise is proof of that.

The three leading Pet Supplies online stores in the United States are examined here. Globally, these three rank first, second and fifth, respectively. Chewy.com stands out as the first. In comparison to petsmart.com and petco.com, chewy.com’s net sales are tremendous. There are several reasons for its clear distinction.

Chewy.com Generated 12 Times the Online Net Sales of Petsmart.com in 2024

First and foremost, chewy.com is an online-only player, which means that its online store is the only channel. Petsmart and Petco also operate physical stores, which is why their online net sales are not representative of the total, only a portion of it.

Chewy.com’s net sales grew significantly during the pandemic and in the years since: Its online net sales of US$7.2 billion in 2020 grew steadily over time to reach US$11.7 billion in 2024. Its direct competitors petsmart.com and petco.com do not even come close.

Compared to petsmart.com, chewy.com generated nine times more net sales. The gap widened over time, in part because petsmart.com experienced little growth after 2020, while chewy.com grew exponentially. By 2024, chewy.com's net sales were eleven times those of petsmart.com.

Typical consumer behavior plays an important role in the success of chewy.com. While it is not uncommon to visit multiple stores for pet needs, there is little incentive to shop endlessly.

Incentivizing Consumers to Order Pet Products Online

Buying pet supplies online has advantages when it comes to pricing, product selection and availability. But brick-and-mortar stores are still important - especially for products that are essential to a pet's health or well-being, such as food and habitat maintenance. Sometimes consumers just want to buy products right away, which is why quick commerce can be relevant for pet supplies.

For Petco and PetSmart, however, the online channel is complementary to physical sales. Their focus is different from Chewy's, where the online store generates all of its sales. The focus is on convenience, as consumers must be incentivized to buy their products online from Chewy rather than visiting a physical store or browsing another domain.

Chewy does this by offering free shipping on orders over US$35 (Petco also has this, PetSmart is a little higher at US$49). Easy returns are another benefit, while lower overall prices and a wider variety of products are additional advantages consumers cite in connection with Chewy. Ultimately, however, personal preference in brand selection is another factor not to be underestimated.