Chewy's Online Pet Care Positioning Looks Solid but Near-Term Pressures Linger

The pet care industry is quite attractive, with brand loyalty, sticky purchase habits, pet humanization, and limited cyclicality representing just a handful of alluring structural features in an $144 billion US market (American Pet Products Association). While a slew of players jockey for manufacturing and retail market share, Chewy's service-intensive subscription-driven platform looks poised to capture a disproportionate share of online sales, with the firm building a strong brand around customer service and perceived quality.