Cat Specific Strategies
Dog Specific Strategies

Dog Supplements

Explore solutions to common shopper challenges like confusing signage, out-of-stocks, and high prices. Learn how to make supplements easier to find, improve variety, and boost sales by enhancing the overall shopping experience.

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Supplements

Understanding Shopper Decision Trees in Retail Shelving

Shopper decision trees (SDTs) provide valuable insights into how shoppers browse products and prioritize their choices. By understanding the hierarchy of what is most important to shoppers, we can enhance the shopping experience.​
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While SDTs serve as a guiding framework for organizing the retail shelf, they are not meant to be followed rigidly. Instead, they should be used to make the shopping experience more intuitive and convenient for the customer. By referencing SDTs, we can ensure that products are arranged in a way that aligns with shopper priorities, facilitating easier and more satisfying shopping journeys.

Decision 1:

Health Benefit

Decision 2:

Brand

Decision 3:

Form

Decision 4:

Price

Decision 5:

Size/Count

Challenges Shoppers Face in Navigating the Aisle and Finding Dog Supplements

By understanding these challenges, retailers can take steps to simplify the shopping experience, making it easier for customers to find and choose the right products.

Swipe through the carousel to explore challenges shoppers face

Dog Supplements – 3

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I want to be able to sort through supplements by both brand and function.

Shoppers want to shop for supplements by brand or function. Designing the shelf in a way that makes it easy to see both options can help shoppers find what they need more easily.

Dog Supplements – 2

“

Where do I look for supplements? Shouldn’t they be with the treats?

Shoppers are unsure where to find supplements in the store. They often wonder why supplements aren’t placed with treats and why they are sometimes found with flea and tick products.

Dog Supplements – 1

“

Is a supplement also a treat?

Shoppers are often confused about whether a supplement can be considered a treat or vice versa, making it difficult to make informed decisions.

Dog Supplements – 2

“

Where do I look for supplements? Shouldn’t they be with the treats?

Shoppers are unsure where to find supplements in the store. They often wonder why supplements aren’t placed with treats and why they are sometimes found with flea and tick products.

Dog Supplements – 1

“

Is a supplement also a treat?

Shoppers are often confused about whether a supplement can be considered a treat or vice versa, making it difficult to make informed decisions.

Dog Supplements – 1

“

Is a supplement also a treat?

Shoppers are often confused about whether a supplement can be considered a treat or vice versa, making it difficult to make informed decisions.

Best Practices

for Retail Shelving

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Place supplements in their own area, near food and treats, to align with shopper behavior and make them easier to find.

  • Place supplements near pet food and supplies to ensure visibility and relevance.
  • Place supplements with supplies or treats as it confuses shoppers.

Increase visibility and impulse purchases with secondary placements near high-traffic areas or adjacent to human supplements.

  • Position supplements near human supplements or pharmacy areas to boost awareness and drive impulse purchases.
  • Position supplements in small, hard-to-find areas away from the main pet aisle.

Help shoppers navigate the pet aisle by ensuring visible and clear headers for the supplements section.

  • Use clear, concise verbiage to guide shoppers to the supplements section.
  • Leave out overhead signs that shoppers need for clear direction.

Stock a wide variety of products for key needs like Joint, Digestion, and Calming, while also including rising areas like Multi-Benefits and Skin & Coat. Make comparison easy for exploratory shoppers.

  • Arrange shelves by benefits, placing high-demand need states like joint health and digestion at eye level.
  • Group supplements by brand, as it complicates benefit comparison.

Use shelf talkers and dividers to highlight ingredient benefits, usage occasions, and specific health needs. Consistent signage also supports proper stocking and replenishment.

  • Use shelf talkers and dividers to highlight benefits, ingredients, and usage occasions (e.g., "Joint Health = proactive maintenance for large dogs, reactive care for aging dogs").
  • Use signage frivolously. It is needed to educate without overwhelming or cluttering.

Optimizing Fulfillment Methods for Dog Supplements

​ By addressing these opportunities and challenges, an online best-in-class retail shelving education platform can guide retailers on how to optimize their omni-fulfillment methods, ensuring a seamless and convenient shopping experience for customers.

Dog Supplements Fulfillment – 1

Ensure products tied to specific need states (e.g., Joint, Digestion, Allergy) rank higher on the Product Listing Page (PLP) for better visibility and shopper accessibility.

Dog Supplements Fulfillment – 2

Organize by pet species, with Supplements as a clear subcategory under Food or Treats, rather than burying them in Health/Pharmacy.

Dog Supplements Fulfillment – 3

 Refine algorithms to prevent unrelated products from appearing when shoppers search by symptoms or terms like “supplements.”

Dog Supplements Fulfillment – 4

Offer features like “ask a vet” chats or AI recommendations to help shoppers make confident decisions. Promote auto-subscriptions for daily supplement use, and provide in-store scanning options to access an endless online aisle.

Dog Supplements Fulfillment – 5

Highly researched shoppers need final guidance. Ensure Product Listing Pages are easy to browse and Product Detail Pages provide detailed, actionable information to drive conversions.

Dog Supplements Fulfillment – 2

Organize by pet species, with Supplements as a clear subcategory under Food or Treats, rather than burying them in Health/Pharmacy.

Dog Supplements Fulfillment – 3

 Refine algorithms to prevent unrelated products from appearing when shoppers search by symptoms or terms like “supplements.”

Dog Supplements Fulfillment – 4

Offer features like “ask a vet” chats or AI recommendations to help shoppers make confident decisions. Promote auto-subscriptions for daily supplement use, and provide in-store scanning options to access an endless online aisle.

Dog Supplements Fulfillment – 5

Highly researched shoppers need final guidance. Ensure Product Listing Pages are easy to browse and Product Detail Pages provide detailed, actionable information to drive conversions.

Dog Supplements Fulfillment – 3

 Refine algorithms to prevent unrelated products from appearing when shoppers search by symptoms or terms like “supplements.”

Dog Supplements Fulfillment – 4

Offer features like “ask a vet” chats or AI recommendations to help shoppers make confident decisions. Promote auto-subscriptions for daily supplement use, and provide in-store scanning options to access an endless online aisle.

Dog Supplements Fulfillment – 5

Highly researched shoppers need final guidance. Ensure Product Listing Pages are easy to browse and Product Detail Pages provide detailed, actionable information to drive conversions.

Dog Supplements Fulfillment – 4

Offer features like “ask a vet” chats or AI recommendations to help shoppers make confident decisions. Promote auto-subscriptions for daily supplement use, and provide in-store scanning options to access an endless online aisle.

Dog Supplements Fulfillment – 5

Highly researched shoppers need final guidance. Ensure Product Listing Pages are easy to browse and Product Detail Pages provide detailed, actionable information to drive conversions.

Dog Supplements Fulfillment – 5

Highly researched shoppers need final guidance. Ensure Product Listing Pages are easy to browse and Product Detail Pages provide detailed, actionable information to drive conversions.

Utilizing the PLUS Framework for the Dog Supplements Segment

By leveraging these areas of the PLUS framework, retailers can effectively enhance their cat litter segment, attracting new customers, broadening product appeal, encouraging premium purchases, and increasing overall consumption.​

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Welcome:

Target New
Households

Welcome: Ensure Visibility and Ease of Shopping Supplements needs its own space

Create a specific area for supplements near pet food and accessories that is visible to pet owners while they shop for other pet items.

Engaging just 10% of the 25 million dog food buying households in purchasing supplements could unlock a $218 million opportunity.

Broaden:

Expand the Definitions of Traditional Segments

There is no Broaden info for supplements. Supplements are a broadening of treats and pet food from an outcome-based benefit perspective.

Upgrade:

Educate Trade Consumers to Higher Price Tiers

Upgrade: Encourage Upgrade with Education

Not all supplements are created equal. Educate shoppers on the benefits of premium supplements, such as higher % of active ingredients, different delivery forms and various flavors.

Upgrading 10% of purchasers to spend 10% more annually on premium supplements could generate a $9 million opportunity.

Expand:

Strategies & Tactics to Increase Consumption of Current Consumers

Expand: Encourage Current Users to Try Multiple Supplements

Pets may benefit from more than one supplement. Encourage current users of supplements to try an additional formula. Ex: If they use a calming supplement, maybe they could also use a skin & coat formula.

Expanding usage from 1 to 2 supplements among just 10% of current supplement users could drive an additional $40 million in category growth.