E-commerce is a rapidly rising industry that is already worth many billions of dollars and is expected to continue its meteoric rise well into the foreseeable future. Among the many diverse sectors served by e-commerce, the animal healthcare industry is beginning to account for an increasingly high share of the money generated from e-commerce businesses. The convenience and speed with which pet care items can be ordered online is beginning to change the way the pet industry approaches its business, and as time goes on, it seems that more and more of our pet care needs will be served by online businesses.
Pet Food
There have been debates raging for as long as humans have owned pets as to what the best food to feed them is. Anyone who has spent more than a few minutes browsing the available dog food in a grocery store will understand just how much choice there is and how many competing claims are being made by various companies as to why their brand of food is the most beneficial to a dog. The internet has made pet owners savvier by putting more information than ever before in front of them, meaning that the pet owners themselves can now rapidly find the necessary information to accurately assess the claims made by pet food manufacturers. Online shopping also means that pet owners can search for very specific foods and have them delivered quickly and for a lower price than usual to their front door.
Online Vet Consultations
Voice over IP (VoIP) services such as Skype have led to a rise in the number of doctors and therapists who are assessing patients remotely, and this trend is now continuing into the world of pet care. There are now online veterinary services that you can contact, who will speak to you via webcam and diagnose your pet remotely. Of course, if your pet requires veterinary attention, you will still have to take them in, but for some conditions, you can treat with off the shelf or over the counter items and save yourself a costly trip to the vets.
Healthcare Products
Like humans, our pets are now living longer than ever owing to the higher quality diets they are exposed to and the greater awareness among owners of how to properly treat various conditions. In the last few years, CBD has become a popular supplement for treating a range of physical and psychiatric conditions in people and has shown great promise in treating pain and other conditions in pets. Pain resulting from cancer in dogs has been shown to be effectively attenuated by CBD supplements. CBD may also help with dogs who are suffering from an emotional imbalance and it is being investigated for a wide range of conditions in both people and animals.
E-commerce is changing the way that pet owners approach caring for their animals. Greater access to information and products is proving to be a real boon both for consumers and for the industry itself.
