In this time of crisis there are some sectors that are not only holding up, but are even growing considerably. And often, to favor these excellent performances is theecommerce. Thanks to the removal of physical barriers, the considerable saving of time, the particularly advantageous discounts and increasingly innovative services designed ad hoc, after the surge during the lockdown, the online shopping market is destined to record staggering numbers again.
The pet care boom thanks to e-commerce
A sector that more than any other is driving the market, not only in Italy, today is undoubtedly that ofanimal care. During the pandemic, pet adoptions increased sharply: approx 3.5 million Italians have taken an animal with them pets during or after the first lockdown, so much so that in our country alone, in 2021, the pet population was around 64.5 million specimensincluding as many as 10.1 million cats and 8.7 million dogs.
This means that the business of food, clothing and pet care products has skyrocketed: pet food alone in 2021 reached a value of 2,533 million euros. Looking at last year’s data, then, it can be seen how the pet care segment drove the growth of online shopping for consumer products in Italy, marking +24,3% compared to 2021. By 2032, the Pet Care Market is expected to reach nearly 60 billion euros.
To make the point is Payplugthe payment partner for merchants, e-merchants and fintech players, which in order to collect data on the subject interviewed three chain stores specializing in the sale of pet food and care products, a reality which in these years have seen their business grow thanks to online and digital payments.
“More and more Italians are deciding to buy food and accessories for their pet online, attracted by the wide choice available in pet store e-commerce”, he observes Mirella Bengio, Payplug Country Manager. “It therefore becomes essential to offer solutions designed to simplify the business of small and medium-sized enterprises in order to guarantee convenience and reliability in online payments”.
Easy payments
For instance Paco Pet Shop, the 3rd e-commerce in Italy specialized in food and accessories for pets, sells everything for animals, especially food, with products for all types of diets and different needs, even gluten free. The shop also sells products for the care of dogs, cats and other puppies, all made of materials not tested on animals and designed to stimulate their health and physical abilities.
For some time it has been recording an increase in attention towards the products purchased for one’s pets. “The most purchased products are the foods. Especially dry food for dogs and wet food for cats”, explains the founder Silvia Bosio. “For us, it is above all the food that makes the difference features aimed at simplifying payment and eliminating the problem of cart abandonment“.
But how is it done? There are services specifically designed for this. Eg Payplug has invented different systems, such as Pay by Linkwhich allows you to send the user via SMS or email a link that quickly directs you to a payment page: in this way the transaction can be completed in complete safety, contrasting the abandonment of the cart.
Customized and easy to use payment page
Also Supermarkets 4paws, present throughout Northern Italy with 6 points of sale and online with a vast e-commerce, confirms the presence of pet food at the top of the ranking of the most purchased products by pet owners. “Among foods, le dog food”, declares the Head of Marketing Marcella Boggiani.
Also in this case, transactions are facilitated and made more secure thanks to specific functions. For example, on the e-commerce site, a custom payment page, within which the customer can complete the transaction without leaving the site. Compatible with the main e-commerce platforms on the market (Magento, WooCommerce, Shopify, PrestaShop), the responsive and personalized payment page allows you to have a shopping experience simple, clear, immediate and safe.
Wide choice and secure payments
In addition to food, pet owners also top the list of purchases pesticides. This represents an important business for Animalshistoric pet store born in 1967 in Ascoli Piceno and today a point of reference for the sector with an e-commerce active since 2021.
One of Ciam Animali’s goals, explains his manager Francesco Lazzarini, is keeping up with the changes in the retail world and innovating over the years the way of selling one’s products. To do this, you need tools that guarantee payment security and allow you to reduce fraud.
Like Payplug’s proprietary technology Smart 3-D Securewhich allows merchants to choose a threshold below which users can make a frictionless transactionthus limiting cart abandonments. The graphical interface is very simple and user friendly. “By using Payplug we allow our users to conclude credit card transactions reliably and quickly”. Therefore, security, speed, simplicity are the keywords that set the trends of the digital pet market, and of online purchases in general.
Content offered by Payplug.
