The Changing Mindset of Pet Supplies Business Owners

The surge in pet ownership and the changing ways and needs of pet owners have presented both new opportunities and challenges for businesses in the pet supplies industry.

Conservatives tend to stick to traditional products they’ve sold for decades, such as cat litter, traditional toys, and dog leashes.

Innovators, on the other hand, are more willing to embrace technology, opting for products highly integrated with AI, such as smart litter boxes, smart feeders, smart water dispensers, and pet trackers.

Innovators believe that people’s needs and ways of raising pets have changed dramatically. Those who cannot meet these needs will be eliminated by the market. They believe the market doesn’t favor those who refuse change. They firmly believe that smart pet devices, such as smart litter boxes, represent the development trend of the next decade. Failure to keep up with the trend is the beginning of decline.

I often hear this sentiment: many cat owners particularly dislike cleaning up cat feces. Traditional litter boxes not only require owners to clean them manually, but for long-haired cats, excrement often gets stuck to their bodies. Therefore, the emergence of smart litter boxes is truly a blessing for cat owners. Smart litter boxes perfectly solve the two problems mentioned earlier. Not only do they automatically clean up feces, but they also have excellent deodorizing and sterilizing functions, providing cat owners with a fresher environment. Most importantly, they are incredibly friendly to long-haired cats whose bodies are often covered in feces, perfectly solving the hygiene problem. Moreover, smart litter boxes can accurately record the frequency of a cat’s bowel movements, and even track its weight; some even have multi-cat recognition systems. They are especially suitable for families with multiple cats.

At the same time, I believe that the impact and changes brought about by smart litter boxes go far beyond these. I believe that smart litter boxes redefine cat owners and their lives, even rewriting and subverting the act of cat ownership itself. Traditionally, owning a cat is more about companionship or emotional support. Cat owners are often jokingly referred to as “poop scoopers.” This means that owning a cat has an invisible bottleneck: you have to start the daily routine of cleaning up after your cat. For some people with obsessive-compulsive disorder about cleanliness, this is difficult to achieve, even if they have emotional needs or love cats very much. Cats and their owners form an unbreakable bond, an image that lingers in everyone’s mind. However, the emergence of smart litter boxes has brought good news to all cat owners. It can be said that smart litter boxes have redefined cat ownership; no one will call you a “cat servant” anymore. Cleaning up cat feces is no longer the last obstacle to owning a cat.

So, how should pet supply retailers think about the emergence of smart litter boxes? What changes should their thinking undergo? Should they stick to tradition, or embrace the new era with the advent of smart litter boxes?

Haolinc is an expert specializing in smart pet health. We design, develop, and produce smart devices for the pet industry, including smart pet trackers. Welcome to visit our website and contact us. We are happy to discuss any questions you may have about pet trackers. We look forward to your visit!

Author: Linan Yao

2016-1-14