Direct Competition PetSmart and Petco both try to solve the problem of lack of information and, of course, do their best to sell pet parents on setups and supplies that will be best for their pets. These companies were fi rst viewed as direct competition, given the similar goals they held to Skitter. As Skitter evolved as a concept, however, it became clear that these brands would be better seen as partners. If Skitter could fi nd a way to solve these businesses’ problems regarding a lack of customer trust and unwillingness to commit to expensive items as well as the problems of pet parents, that solution would be a gamechanger, and a recipe for success. The fi rst step in the process of developing such a unique value for Skitter was to determine what these other businesses did have, and where their existing services were failing to meet their needs. Upon further research, both Petco and PetSmart do provide reliable and mostly solid information about the care of the various pets that they sell. Depending upon the store, this information is provided through what the companies call “care guides” or “care sheets.” In the case of Petsmart, the information is available at their stores in the form of paper pamphlets as well as online; in the case of Petco, the information is available upon request at store 20 locations, in the form of sheets available to associates that they do not hand out. A smaller competitor, Pet Supplies plus, is currently in the process of overhauling their means of providing information about the pets they sell to more closely resemble the Petsmart model. With all of this information available, and through such a variety of mediums, why then do customers interviewed about their understanding of pet care express such discontent with the info provided by stores? After further digging, the answer became apparent: Customers were most often completely unaware such information was available on-site. Sometimes, even associates expressed this sentiment, with answers on how their store made information about pet care available to customers ranging from “I just tell them what I know” all the way to “We don’t.” After further interviewing across a wide range of PetSmart and Petco locations, further issues with the existing model appeared, with associates expressing grievances about pamphlet supply shortages, general unavailability, and poor placement within the store. The matter of selling customers on expensive pet care necessities such as the appropriate size cages, terrariums, and tanks was found to be often explicitly tied to the informational problem,
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