Walmart To Focus On Pet Care: Everything You Need To Know

Pet lovers may have one more reason to shop at Walmart (WMT) as the retailer announced that it will be opening even more veterinary clinics inside its stores. This is in addition to launching a new online pet pharmacy as well as more “wholesome” pet food options.

To date, Walmart has 21 veterinary clinics in its stores across six states but now has plans in the works to increase these clinics to 100 in-store locations. Dallas-Fort Worth will be the first location to receive nine veterinary clinics in May and June, according to Walmart.

With the veterinary clinics, Walmart said it could save customers “as much as 40 to 60 percent on vaccines and minor illness packages and exams.”

Also new from Walmart is its online pet pharmacy, WalmartPetRX.com. The new online pet pharmacy will compete with Petsmart’s Chewy.com, which also offers pet medications online, CNBC reported. Walmart said that WalmartPetRX.com will have prescriptions for dogs, cats, horses, and livestock at a reduced rate from more than 300 different brands.

Walmart will offer the pet prescriptions for home delivery with free two-day shipping on orders over $35. Plus, the company said it will stock its 4,500 pharmacies with the “top 30 most requested pet meds” for same day pickup.

Walmart also said that it will begin offering more “premium” and “free-from” pet food options through its private label brands Pure Balance, Golden Rewards, and Vibrant Life, which will provide ingredients such as farm-raised chicken. The cost of the “premium” pet food will be at three-fourths the cost, the retailer said. Walmart also offers Blue Buffalo, Greenies, and Hill’s Science Diet pet food brands.

The idea to bring more pet products and services to its customers allows Walmart to dip into the rising pet care industry, which Americans spent an estimated $72.56 billion on in 2018, according to the American Pet Products Association.

Shares of Walmart stock were down 0.64 percent as of 10:55 a.m. ET on Tuesday.