Digital Solution Evaluation Tool

Digital Solution 1: In-store Tablet

Human Idea

Key Features

Benefits

Strategic Business Challenge

Key Data and Insights

References and Sources

Drawbacks

Overall Score Calculation

Digital Solution 2: Pet360

Human Idea

Key Features

Benefits

Strategic Business Challenge

Key Data and Insights

References and Sources

Drawbacks

Overall Score Calculation

Digital Solution 3: Personalized Pet Nutrition Platform with AI Meal Planning

AI-Generated Idea

Key Features

Benefits

Strategic Business Challenge

Key Data and Insights

References and Sources

Drawbacks

Overall Score Calculation

Digital Solution 4: Eco- Friendly Accesories App with AR Product Customisation

AI-Generated Idea

Key Features

Benefits

Strategic Business Challenge

Key Data and Insights

References and Sources

Drawbacks

Overall Score Calculation

Key Features

Combines functionality of two existing PAH apps (Pets at Home and Vets for Pets) including:

• Health reports

• Accessory recommendations

• Nutrition planning

• Service booking

Strategic Business Challenge:

PAH can appeal to the fact that pet owners are wanting personalised products catering to their pets' individual needs (Anastasiia Balakhan, 2021). This ensures that pet owners make better decisions in the future regarding their pet health, perhaps encouraging them to stay with PAH through their loyalty schemes. Greater accessibility is achieved through having a superapp.

Key Data Insights:

• Secondary data shows that food sales are PAH’s largest revenue source, growing at 9.31% (PetsatHomeGroupPlc, 2024a),while 52% of dog owners find pet nutrition confusing (Lumley, 2023), indicating a need for better information access.
• Argos’ switch from catalogs to in-store tablets has driven growth (Scala, 2014), suggesting PAH could benefit from digitalizing in-store information.

Key Features

• Detailed information on animals, foods, and accessories for customers to view

• Optimal pet care condititions can be displayed when users enter their current pet situation (e.g: a Goldfishes a Blue Tang)

• Allergen information shown for foods

• Tailored product suggestions upon linking Pets Club membership to the In-store tablet

Image credit: Open Reality

Benefits:

• Customers gain access to detailed information beyond standard pet signage

• Ingredients breakdown of foods

• Filters for animals and products

• Products tailored to specific preferences and budget

Key Data Insights:

• With 52% of dog owners finding pet food choices confusing (Lumley, 2023), PAH has an opportunity to become a trusted source for clear meal plans.
• Subscriptions already account for 11% of PAH’s revenue (PetsatHomeGroupPlc, 2024b), and with 62% of pet owners interested in weight management (MordorIntelligence, 2022), suggesting a demand for tailored meal plans

Drawbacks

• Privacy concerns arise with data sharing which depends on regulatory outcomes

• Cost implications regarding app production

• Frequent reminders and compatibility issues with vet and pet shop data could overwhelm some users

Benefits:

• Personalized pet nutrition, reflecting the trend toward "pet humanization" and meeting the rising demand for customized pet foods like "Tuggs" (Tuggs, 2024)

• Appointment reminders, reducing missed vet visits and associated costs.

Benefits:

• Customers can virtually try accessories on their pets, allowing easier, remote purchases.

• Sustainability ratings help customers understand the environmental impact of their purchases, promoting greener choices.

Drawbacks

• The initiative has high development costs, and PAH would need a strong ROI to justify investment.

• Environmental claims may face scrutiny, especially without transparent sourcing and sustainable practices.

Drawbacks

• AI hallucinations could lead to incorrect data (Lisowski, 2023) and therefore lead to false implications and recommendations
• Nutraceutical regulation poses risks, as inaccurate health claims could lead to legal issues
• The meal subscription space is competitive, with brands like Tugg's.

Organisational Relevance

Viability for Organisation

Customer Value

Competitive Edge

26

Overall Score:

References and Sources:

• Buttz, S. (2024, July 24). Pet care’s digital advancement: How WagWay is leading the charge. LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/pet-cares-digital-advancement-how-wagway-leading-charge-ad5ve/
• Drohan, M. (2024, March 10). Pet Pampering: How Pet Care is Crossing Over into Personal Care. Society of Cosmetic Chemists. https://www.scconline.org/IMWSCC/Articles/ArtMID/136115/ArticleID/2679/Pet-Pampering-How-Pet-Care-is-Crossing-Over-into-Personal-Care

• Pets at Home. (2024, June 10). Annual report 2024. Pets at Home PLC. Retrieved from https://www.petsathomeplc.com/investors/results-presentations

Strategic Business Challenge:

Pets At Home reported declining accessory sales (PetsAtHome Group Plc, 2024a). This idea would push a focus on the accessories segment through personalisation. Customers are leaning towards eco-friendly solutions from competitors such as PetsCorner.

Organisational Relevance

Viability for Organisation

Customer Value

Competitive Edge

28

Overall Score:

References and Sources:

• Lumley, Sarah (2023, August 22) BristolLive: Millions of dog owners have no idea what is in their pet's food, study finds. https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/dog-food-ingredients-nutritious-diet-8693745.
• Pets at Home Group Plc (2024a). Annual Report and Accounts 2024.  https://www.petsathomeplc.com/investors/results-presentations/
• Scala. (2014, June 11). Argos digital store - running on Scala [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekrHAzr1f4I

Key Features

• AI-driven, breed-specific meal recommendations with nutraceutical options

• Available through a subscription model that delivers meals directly to customers’ doors.

Strategic Business Challenge:

Customers lack transparency regarding food details and animal conditions that are the most optimal. Currently, PAH provide paper leaflets from primary research, but storing this information digitally and sending to a customer's account would ensure they can keep this information.

Drawbacks

• The cost of purchasing tablets, integrating systems, and training employees
• Technological barriers, especially for older customers
• Potential loss of face-to-face interaction
• Tablets are only accessible in-store and may not improve online sales or guarantee usage

Strategic Business Challenge:

Customers have reported confusion around pet food selection (Lumley, 2023), this would mitigate the issue and make it far easier to cater for pets needs. The subscription basis could attract and retain customers increasing the revenues of areas like Pets Club.

Benefits:

• Convenient, comprehensive shopping experience, catering to all pet care needs with a personalized touch.

• Supports sustainability by minimizing food waste through tailored meal prep.

Key Data Insights:

• Accessory sales have declined by 4.3% for PAH (PetsatHomeGroupPlc, 2024a), but the nutraceutical market is projected to grow at 10.26% annually.
• 25% of dogs and 33% of cats missed essential vaccinations (Winter, 2017), supporting the need for accessible appointment reminders.
• Sephora’s app, which centralizes information, drives 80% of sales in North America (Grunberg, 2024), showing the potential value for PAH of a single, integrated app.

References and Sources:

• Lisowski, Edwin (2023, July 10). AI-driven text summarization: Challenges and opportunities. https://addepto.com/blog/ai-driven-text-summarization-challenges-and-opportunities/
• Lumley, Sarah (2023, August 22) BristolLive: Millions of dog owners have no idea what is in their pet's food, study finds. https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/dog-food-ingredients-nutritious-diet-8693745.
• Mordorintelligence (2022). Pet Food Nutraceutical Market Report | 2022 - 27 | Industry Share, Size, Growth. [online] https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/global-pet-food-nutraceutical-market-industry.
• Pets at Home Group Plc (2024). Q1 FY25 Trading Statement (pp.1-2). https://www.petsathomeplc.com/media/2randt4s/pets-at-home-q1-fy25-vfinal.pdf.

Key Features

• Augmented reality tool for previewing accessories on pets

• Sustainability ratings for products

• Rewards system with flexible subscriptions

• Integration with PAH's Pets Club for personalized updates and benefits

Organisational Relevance

Viability for Organisation

Customer Value

Competitive Edge

26

Overall Score:

Key Data Insights:

• The eco-friendly trend is strong, with 70% of pet owners seeking sustainable options (Drohan, 2024), aligning PAH with consumer values and setting them apart from competitors.

• Millennials and Gen Z, who favor digital convenience, represent 49% of pet owners (Buttz, 2024), making an AR app a strategic fit for their preferences.

References and Sources:

• Balakhan, Anastasiia. (2021, January 27). Pet marketing: Why personalization is important for pet retailers. Marigold Engage by Sailthru. https://www.sailthru.com/personalization-pet-retailers/
• Grunberg, J. (2019, October 3). How Sephora gets personalization right. https://wwd.com/business-news/business-features/sephora-sailthru-report-1203332771/
• Pets at Home Group Plc (2024a). Annual Report and Accounts 2024.
• Winter, Stuart. (2017) PET WARNING: Record numbers at risk of diseases as owners fail to vaccinate them. https://www.express.co.uk/news/nature/819728/pet-vaccinate-recorder-numbers-at-risk.

Organisational Relevance

Viability for Organisation

Customer Value

Competitive Edge

30

Overall Score: