With an aim to cater to pet owners’ needs and to make pet parenting effortless, Just Dogs share their experience of the lockdown and how they adjusted to the new normal.
As the recent pandemic continues to spread globally, it has brought a standstill in lives and businesses of millions worldwide creating a drastic change in many sectors and affecting consumer behaviour as well. With only ‘essential items’ that have been made available online and offline since the nationwide lockdown began, topping the list were everyday items like grains, milk, medicines, and so on; and one important commodity was pet essential items and food.
Recognizing this need, Just Dogs that is India’s #1 pet retail store, with over 10,000 different varieties of products, decided to cater to their customers’ needs in this time of distress.
One of the biggest concerns was surrounding the confusion on availability of pet supplies and whether they were included in the ‘essential items’ list during the lockdown. So, with customers reaching out for their pets’ basic needs, the main goal for Just Dogs was to deliver to the pet care community not just in the form of tangible goods but also in terms of correct information and knowledge during these tough times. As most of the city was under lockdown, there was also a delay in supply of stock, which did cause panic amongst customers, but we ensured that they received their supplies on time. While most people were working from home, the sales team and delivery agents emerged as the real COVID warriors, delivering essentials to different households. They were dedicated to actively provide to their customers’ needs through home deliveries and in-store pickups while following all hygiene and safety measures ensured by WHO. At all stores, precautionary measures such as timely sanitization of every product, temperature checks, restricted entry of customers, and marked lines to maintain social distancing were followed. Since we take customer service very seriously, our E-commerce website justdogsstore.com was available for online orders 24×7 and we made sure that each and every customer received his supplies. We also made sure every order and product was sanitized and packaged appropriately to ensure safety.
The next important initiative by Just Dogs was to help spread correct information in the pet community. From talking about ways to take care of your pets during lockdown to engaging with the audience through digital media and online events, Just Dogs was actively a part of every pet parent’s go-to place for tips. Various Instagram and Facebook live sessions with industry experts like trainers, veterinarians, and groomers were conducted to provide helpful tips and to answer queries of pet owners. They also made use of their vast digital media presence to spread correct information on social topics like how pets do not cause coronavirus and also on how, individually, we can reach out to help in feeding the strays.
To lighten the atmosphere, Just Dogs came up with an initiative and teamed up with other brands to organize a virtual pet party called ‘Pet Social’, where aim of the event was to let owners bond with their pets and enjoy an evening full of learning, laughter, and fun interactions. Hosted by a professional actor, the event started off with various engaging games and moved on to an informative session by an international speaker where he spoke about the importance of nutrition in a pet’s diet. Next, it was time for some laughter and the attendeesgeared up for comedian Sahil Shah, who entertained the audience with some amazing perspectives about the hooman-pet relationship. Overall, with over 100 participants, two hours of complete fun and learning, ‘Pet Social’ was a perfect success.
From taking all measures to recover from the impact and adapt to the new normal to encouraging people to spend more time with their pets, we can say that Just Dogs successfully spread their message of love and care throughout the pet community.
