Amazon could enter pet telehealth to compete with Walmart: Report

It is worth noting that Amazon recently launched telehealth services all over the US because of the fact that telehealth is booming all over the world and especially in the US. Now, CNBC has reported that Amazon is also looking to enter the pet telehealth vertical thanks to its competitor Walmart entering the space earlier this year. Walmart’s offering means that Amazon could also sign a similar deal very soon.

Walmart signed a deal with veterinary telehealth provider Pawp to offer Walmart+ subscribers free access to the startup’s membership for a year. The offering is set to expire Nov. 19, less than a week before Black Friday and right around the time the pet holiday shopping season begins. Amazon could turn to Pawp to fuel a potential pet telehealth offering in time for the holiday season because Pawp has already proven it can scale with a large retailer. Amazon could also partner with one of the dozens of other pet telehealth startups on the market or build its own practice, which is what Chewy did when it began offering the service during the pandemic recently.

According to research from Bloomberg Intelligence published earlier this year, the U.S. pet market is expected to grow to $200 billion by the end of the decade, and pet health care is driving that boom. Chewy has focused on building out its pet prescription, insurance, and telehealth offerings. Petco has leaned on its brick-and-mortar footprint to develop clinics and grooming centers, making it one of the leading veterinary providers in the nation.

If Amazon does move forward with a pet telehealth program, it could take a similar approach to Walmart and offer it through its Amazon Prime subscription service. The heart of the value propositions for both Amazon Prime and Walmart+ is unlimited free deliveries, but the paid subscription services also offer a host of competing perks that are designed to incentivize sign-ups and reduce churn. Perks that come along with the subscription services – such as Amazon Prime’s GrubHub+ offering and Walmart+’s addition of Pawp – are also designed to set the two offerings apart and keep the subscription services competitive.