The pet supplies industry is growing rapidly with the market valued at £7.2 bn and rising. Apart from the rampant demand for pet products of all kinds – from organic dog food and sustainable cat litter to hand-crafted hamster nests and Halloween costumes for guinea pigs – social media is giving businesses new opportunities to capitalise on this demand and significantly growth their customer bases. These new avenues to market enable brands to speak directly to their customers with TikTok being the channel of the moment.
Why is it so successful? Social media, and TikTok especially, provides a targeted way to reach customers, give them the content they need while showcasing their products and personality. The stats back this up: TikTok Shop generated $20bn in global revenue in 2023. For the pet supply industry, just consider that the majority of TikTok users are aged between 15 and 34, which is roughly the same age group that comprises the majority new pet owners in the UK.
Making TikTok Shop work
However, taking this new step into social media selling relies heavily on having the resources and infrastructure to support demand. It’s one thing to generate demand through influencer content, unboxing videos and testimonials, it’s quite another to meet that demand in the most efficient way possible that will not only keep customers happy (and giving good reviews) but will also ensure they come back for more.
Typically a fulfilment partner will take care of the heavy lifting so that the business can focus on more strategic endeavours, like scaling up or conquering new markets. And ensure customers should receive the same seamless (or better) experience as they were before.
Support from a fulfilment partner
In an ideal world the brand’s current fulfilment company would offer this expertise and integrate TikTok fulfilment into the wider fulfilment offering. They need to understand the brand’s mission and offer something more than just taking packages from A to B.
While this is at the core of what they do, experienced ecommerce fulfilment businesses have the know-how and capabilities to take that further. The last thing a brand needs is to put pressure on the fulfilment process, miss orders and ultimately lose customers.
Next level growth through expertise
If their current fulfilment company can’t cope with this new direction, what should brands be looking for?
The most obvious answer is a fulfilment company that gets the basics right – warehouse management, quality, timely service, picking and packing expertise. They should have the resources and experience to deal with sudden surges in orders whether that is due to seasonal demand, a viral video or a marketing campaign – again to ensure the quality of the customer experience.
They will have a robust technology platform that streamlines the order, delivery and returns process, while also integrating directly with the brand’s e-commerce platform. In this way, the brand is always in the loop and can access vital trend data that will influence future marketing campaigns and growth strategies.
They should also offer complementary or added value services that will help in the longer-term mission of customer retention and brand growth, such as subscription box fulfilment – where success relies on expertise around picking and packing, as well as operational elements like expiry date management and stock rotation – or contract packaging and help with seasonal promotions and rebranding.
The next step
Taking the next step in growing a business and brand can be daunting, especially when outsourcing such a key part of the business, like fulfilment. But making sure you have the right partner, or choose the right partner doesn’t take a leap of faith – it requires due diligence. Industry experience, a solid reputation and the know-how to offer strategic support will help make that decision a little clearer.
Lilla Horvath is a fulfilment services analyst at Fullers Fulfilment, an end-to-end fulfilment specialist that has been in business for more than 60 years, and works with a host of pet care brands.
