If you are a pet person and have a soft spot for animals, you must be familiar with the Chewy. Chewy is a retailer online business dealing with pet food and other related items. It was founded by Ryan Cohen and Michael Day in 2011. Ryan Cohen is himself a pet parent. He always knew that there are lots of people in this world who care about their pets. These pet parents are ready to buy standard food and other services. At the age of 25, he decided to drop his plan of opening an online jewelry shop and cater to the need of pets and generate an exclusive marketplace for animal products. Here we will see about What is chewy auto-ship?
The pet food business is considered a low-margin trade. In the initial days, Cohen had his share of difficulties in raising funds. However, to establish itself in the market completely owned by Amazon, Chewy decided to build its business on customer satisfaction Auto-ship facility provided by Chewy is a major step towards it and 68% of its total revenue is generated by this scheme. It is a subscription plan offered by Chewy to its customers for buying products like food and medicines delivered at specific intervals. Chewy offers various discounts and other facilities to the customers who decided to opt for the auto-ship program.
The auto-ship plan is an instant hit among pet parents. There are many reasons behind it. A few among them are as below.
Convenience
The auto-ship subscription plan helps the pet parents to cater to all the needs of their pets without any hassle. One can easily opt for the auto-ship plan from the cart. The plan allows the customer to decide the frequency of the repetitions. The plan is free of cost; however, shipping costs may apply if the cost of the order is less than $49.
Easy Cancelation
The customers can cancel any delivery scheduled by auto-ship at any time without penalty. There is no cancelation fee for the same. A customer can reschedule the delivery as many times as required without paying even a cent for it.
Priority Shipping
In case of a shortage of any product, preference is given to the auto-ship orders. Thus, a customer with an auto-ship plan can relax and do not have to worry about the regular supply of medicines and other food items for their pets.
Free consultations
The customers who have opted for the auto-ship plan are eligible for a free consultation with their in-house veterinarian. These licensed veterinarians answer all pet-related questions and concerns of the customers.
Discounts
Chewy provides a 35% discount on the first order of auto-ship to the maximum discount of $20. It also offers 5% off on future offers. There is no need to apply any coupons for the discount. It is automatically added to the final bill. The auto-ship applies to only select items. You can visit https://www.chewy.com/f/autoship-eligible-pet-food_c1838_f78v90411 for further details.
When a customer opts for an auto-ship plan, he/she gets regular hassle-free delivery of various pet-related items, with an extra discount. He/she has the flexibility to stop, reschedule, and modify the order at any time without any extra cost. It is a total win-win situation for the customers.
Accolades and recognitions
The business plan of Chewy is very simple. It aims to provide the best customer service at the lowest prices possible. The company can meet the customer expectations and some more. Chewy provides a free return policy for all the items for up to one year of their purchase. Chewy receives the award of “America’s Best Customer Service” for three years continuously from 2019 to 2021. Chewy is also appreciated as Best Product & Design team in 2020. In 2021, Chewy made its appearance on the Fortune 500 list.
Profit and evaluation
Chewy creates an emotional bond with its customers. It sends cards to the pet parents on special occasions such as pet birthdays etc. It also wishes pets with “Get Well Soon” cards along with medicines. Sending oil paintings of the pet is also done to make the owner realize that the company cares for their pet.
Chewy has managed to remain profitable in a highly fragmented market mainly due to its unique branding and excellent customer service.
It was not a smooth ride. There were some hiccups on the way. But founders did not lose their faith in the idea. By early 2012, Chewy was posting monthly sales in the range of $1 million, which would grow in under two years to more than $10 million.
For the fourth quarter of 2021, Chewy recorded more than 50% growth with sales reaching $2 billion in the same quarter. For the year 2021, the net sale is more than $7 billion.
The company has 19.2 million active registered customers. Most of the revenue is generated from the Chewy Auto-ship plan. The sales by this plan reach 1.39 billion for the last quarter of 2021. Auto-ship plan is the major contributor to the company sales figures.
Conclusion
The story of Chewy is one of taking a beautiful startup and scaling it to become a world-class institution. The company can reach this point due to the love, support, and trust of its customers. Chewy work hard to maintain trust and provides various offers to its loyal customers. It also works towards increasing its customer base and keeps on adding pet parents to its ever-growing and happy family.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can I assign my auto-ship plan to my cousin living in the same area?
A: Participation in the Auto-ship program is personal and you may not assign or transfer your Subscription or any of the benefits to any third party without authorization from Chewy. You can contact the Chewy team any time by its 24 hours helpline number for further details.
Q: How much time is required for Chewy to fulfill any order?
A: Chewy delivers its order on a priority basis but requires at least 48 hours window. Auto-ship members get priority in delivering the orders.
