Staying Competitive in the Digital Age: How Vet Practices Can Thrive Against Pet Ecommerce

To stay responsive, competitive, and profitable in the ever-changing digital age, your vet practice must adapt to and capitalize on digital trends. Although you might not think about online sales, ecommerce veterinary sales and services are becoming crucial to succeeding in the digital age.

Online sales in the pet industry have increased significantly since 2015; while online sales made up 7% of pet sales in 2015, this figure is projected to reach 53% by 2025. 

Thankfully, it isn’t too late to enhance your practice’s e-commerce presence. Read ahead to learn our tips to increase profitability and remain competitive with ecommerce veterinary hospitals. 

Offering Online Vet Consultations and Telemedicine Services

A study from Grandview Research predicts that the global veterinary telehealth market will experience a compound annual growth rate of 17.6% between 2022 and 2030. Whether you own a full-service animal hospital or a small local clinic, you can capitalize on telemedicine visits

You can begin by offering online or over-the-phone vet consultations. You can structure these consultations as short (10- or 15-minute) conversations where you:

• Ask the pet owner about their pet’s health, recent behaviors, and symptoms
• Conduct a visual assessment (if your consultation is over video)
• Recommend treatment options, which may include medications the pet owner can order online

Offering virtual consultations can provide a wide range of benefits for your practice:

• Encourage scheduling for patients who may not be motivated to schedule in-person visits
• Give pet owners peace of mind about their animals when an in-clinic consultation may not be necessary
• Save your veterinary clinic time by reducing the length of consultation appointments
• Help you stay competitive with vet specialists currently offering virtual appointments
• Expand your veterinary services to surrounding communities

Create an Online Store for Your Practice

E-commerce veterinary medicine is another trend your clinic should capitalize on to provide extended care and boost profitability. One of the easiest ways to incorporate pet ecommerce into your practice is to begin selling products and medications you trust through an online storefront.

Your animal hospital can integrate an ecommerce platform into your existing website or make a separate site to sell products. Then, choose the vendors whose products you would like to sell and work with them to ship purchases directly to your patients. Alternatively, you can let patients order products online and pick them up at your clinic.

Creating an e-commerce store for your clinic can:

• Increase your pet product sales, providing an additional revenue stream
• Provide a more convenient sales process for patients
• Help you obtain the contact information of customers who may not also be patients
• Promote products you trust and recommend to foster better health for your clients’ pets

Offer Digital Convenience for Your Practice and Store

Along with selling pet medicine online, you can incorporate other digital tools to offer a more convenient experience for pets and their owners. Here are a few ways to provide quality veterinary care in the digital age:

Online Scheduling

Online scheduling lets pet owners schedule appointments on the weekend or outside of normal business hours. You can easily offer online scheduling through Weave Online Scheduling.

With Weave Online Scheduling, you can:

• Provide a convenient scheduling method
• Reduce the number of scheduling phone calls you receive
• Reduce the workload for staff

Text to Pay

Your veterinary hospital can also integrate Weave Payments to enable patients to pay their bills through text. This integration can allow your practice to:

• Receive payments faster
• Accept most payment options
• Send invoices via text

Stop letting unscheduled treatments walk out the door because of cost and sign up to become a CareCredit provider directly through Weave today. Give your patients the flexible financing options they need to accept care, and empower your staff to seamlessly process those payments right within your existing Weave workflow.

Texting

Texting is more effective than phone calls or emails to improve communication with your patient base, drive conversions, and save your staff time. With Weave Texting, your staff can automatically text patients:

• Upcoming appointment reminders
• Announcements of unexpected closings
• Reminders about upcoming events at your veterinary hospital
• Reminders to schedule annual vaccines and exams
• Missed-call Text allows you to automatically send replies to calls you’ve missed
• Follow-ups about recent procedures, such as spay surgery or emergency treatment

Email Marketing

Spread the word digitally and automatically with Weave Email Marketing. 

• Let clients know of best health practices through an email content stream
• Update clients on location changes, new practitioners, changes in schedule, and more
• Spread the word about new services and promotional offers

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Curbside Pet Dropoff

Busy pet owners don’t always have time to sit through vet appointments. Allowing patients to drop off their pets at the door and pick them up at a convenient time can improve patient satisfaction. Because pet dropoffs can be stressful for some pet owners, be sure to show compassion and emphasize that their dogs, cats, horses, or other furry loved ones will be in good hands. 

Have a Strong Online Presence

Don’t neglect the rest of your online presence in favor of creating a seamless ecommerce store. Pay special attention to the following aspects of your online presence that can impact your reputation in your surrounding area:

Website, Social Media, and Online Reviews

Your website is often the first image of your animal hospital that potential patients see. Your social media pages enable you to connect with pet owners and further your brand image. And your online reviews can influence a potential patient’s decision to schedule with your practice. 

All of these online tools require special care and dedication:

• Work with marketing specialists or web developers to craft an intuitive, modern, user-friendly website.
• Post curated social media content every few days.
• Use Weave Review Management to request patient reviews and stay on top of inaccurate and negative reviews.

Provide Great Customer Service

Above all else, providing exceptional customer service and patient care will help your veterinary practice stand out from the competition. E-commerce veterinary sales and services are just one way to do that. Your customer service can make or break your first impression for new patients and the decision for existing patients to return. 

Staying up to date with digital trends can show your client base that you offer the highest-quality veterinary care. Modernize your vet practice today by integrating Weave into your patient communications. Request your free Weave demo to learn more.