Walmart (Bentonville, Ark.) has opened its first-ever Walmart Pet Services center at its store in Dallas, Ga. – the same location the retailer opened its inaugural Walmart Health center in 2019. The pilot pet center, located in its own space behind a dedicated storefront, will offer routine veterinary care (vaccines, wellness exams and minor medical services), grooming (baths, nail trims, teeth cleaning, ear cleaning and basic hair trims) and a self-serve dog wash.
Writing about the new service on Walmart’s website, VP of Merchandising, Pets, Kaitlyn Shadiow noted that “The data shows we have good timing.
“Two-thirds of U.S. households own a pet, according to the American Pet Products Association, with unprecedented growth in recent years. In fact, it’s reported that 23 million U.S. households adopted a pet during the pandemic, significantly impacting the pet industry, which is expected to reach $277 billion in total spending by 2030. Unfortunately, many pet owners are feeling the burden of rising costs as pricing in the pet category continues to increase higher than the national inflation rate.”
Walmart will work to counter that situation by offering services in keeping with the company’s “Every Day Low Prices” mantra, Shadiow says. “At Walmart, we have an opportunity to help our customers save precious money, time and effort by offering a destination for pet services at the same place they purchase their pet food and supplies,” she writes.
She also noted that “it’s our goal to bring the Walmart Pet Services model to other communities we serve in the future,” but offered no further details.
