Petco COO talks personalization, employee role in retail customer experience

Personalization in the retail customer experience is on every brand's to-do list given that consumers want and expect a personal retail interaction.

That expectation is big these days. Consider the fact that nearly half of consumers, over 40%, are willing to provide more data to get it, according to a Vibes survey that polled over 1,000 mobile-centric consumers on how they interact with brands on smartphones.

At Petco, personalization is at the top of the 59-year-old retailer's to-do list. And the strategy is paying off. The pet retailer, which saw net revenue of $6.3 billion in 2023, a 3.6% increase from the year prior, has more than 1,500 locations across the U.S., Mexico and Puerto Rico. Its consumables business was up 7.1% compared to 2022 and services and other business channels were up 21.9%.

The retailer is doubling down on personalization but not putting it all in the hands of technology, such as AI. Why? The pet retail segment is a unique environment that centers on the strong relationships between pet owners and pets — and the interaction between pet owners and Petco employees.

To learn more, RetailCustomerExperience reached out via an email interview to Justin Tichy, Petco's chief operating officer, on how Petco is personalizing with what the retailer calls "non-artificial" capabilities. One such capability is Petco workers providing pet parents help and support in store aisles and across digital touch points.

Q. So let's start with your role. How long have you been COO and what are your responsibilities?

A. I've had the privilege of leading our pet care center teams since I joined Petco in 2018. As an organization, our objective is to inspire pet parents and guide them through a personalized and holistic pet health and wellness experience, blending the best of our digital and physical footprint. As chief operating officer, I lead the pet care center strategy and support our teams that interact with pet parents every single day, so they can offer a seamless experience, from the curated pet care nutrition and supplies solutions in our aisles to veterinary care, pet grooming, dog training and more.

Q. How critical is personalization to the customer experience at Petco and what can you share on how the brand is building personal relationships with customers?

A. We know 80% of pet parents want to do what's best for their beloved pets, but only 50% of them know what that is. When it comes to pet care, developing personalized experiences and strong relationships with pet parents is key to helping families find the right solutions for their pets' unique health and wellness needs. Pets are their family members — we know that firsthand. Most of our Petco employees (we call them Petco partners) are pet parents. I love my three rescue dogs dearly — and have developed an even deeper appreciation for them now that my kids are away at college. Shortly after joining Petco, we officially became a bearded dragon household also. We'd never had a reptile before, and knowing they're among some of the most popular pets we sell, it's a great way of learning the customer experience of caring for these characterful creatures! Our shared love for pets is part of what differentiates us. We know what it's like to raise a puppy, take care of a sick bunny and more. We lean on this across the enterprise, but the magic really happens in one-on-one conversations between pet parents and our knowledgeable Petco pet care center partners. Focused on supporting pets' whole health, our Petco partners take the time to get to know pets' routines, challenges, personalities and more to find the solutions that support their physical, mental, social and environmental health — and they do this across life stages, which deepens our partners' knowledge of the pet and the overall relationship with their families. I love hearing customer stories that highlight great work by team members in veterinary care, training, grooming, nutrition and supplies. We have some of the most dedicated and compassionate people in retail. Their commitment to providing the best quality of care is inspiring and is a loyalty driver in and of itself.

Q. Is Petco using AI in any capacity within the CX strategy?

A. We're using AI to make medical diagnostics at our in-store veterinary hospitals more efficient, but we believe AI is just one piece of our strategy. We see it as an additive resource supporting the hands-on, non-artificial intelligence our Petco partners lean on to deliver a personalized health and wellness experience catering to our customers' specific interests and needs. This is something technology alone simply cannot deliver. Petco partners build strong personal relationships with pet families through a balance of in-person and digital touch points. This firsthand knowledge continuously evolves as pets' needs change, giving our teams an intimate understanding of how to tailor their recommendations, product offerings and services to each customer — a personal relationship that can't be replicated just with data points or modeling trends with AI.

Q. Can you provide insight on the holistic health and wellness ecosystem approach when it comes to customer relationships?

A. When it comes to leading and inspiring pet parents, we consider every touchpoint across Petco's digital and physical footprint. At pet care centers, we have a fully integrated, hands-on pet care ecosystem where a suite of Petco partners who are knowledgeable in pet care, nutrition and more work together with veterinarians, dog trainers and pet groomers to help customers care for their pets' most individual needs. With a growing network of in-store veterinary hospitals and mobile vaccination clinics, we're increasing pet parents' access to affordable, high-quality veterinary care. In addition to offering a full suite of curated pet care products, animal care resources, tips and expert recommendations via petco.com, we deliver personalized shopping experiences through the Petco app, which enables pet parents to manage their pet's complete health and wellness portfolio — an offering that is unique to us, leads to better health outcomes and keeps customers coming back. No one can deliver the personalized pet health and wellness care that Petco can. Thanks to our network of pet care experts, our relationship with pet parents strengthens and evolves throughout the entire pet family's journey, from adoption to development and beyond.

Q. Where do Petco associates come into play with the CX and what strategies involve them in the customer relationship?

A. Our Petco partners are Petco's greatest strength and their daily interactions with pet parents are essential for delivering loyal customer thanks to deep relationships based on trust. The story of Carina, a general manager from one of our Florida pet care centers comes to mind because it's truly emblematic of the value our Petco partners bring to the customer experience. Years ago, she was laid off by her previous employer due to COVID hardships around the same time she was struggling with the loss of her 11-year-old emotional support pit bull. Looking for support with her grieving process, Carina learned about Petco Love, Petco's nonprofit organization dedicated to animal welfare. Inspired by the organization's mission, Carina applied to join our pet care center team. While working there, she found comfort in sharing her day with a community of pet parents and Petco partners who are just as devoted to pets as she is. Not only did this help her grieving process, but she found an industry she loves and succeeds at because of our shared passion.

Q. Any advice or tips on driving a successful CX philosophy given Petco's achievements?

A. I strongly believe employee experience and customer experience go hand in hand. I've worked in retail for more than 30 years and have been in nearly all of our team members' shoes because I started my career unloading trucks and driving forklifts. And I can tell you nothing helps you drive a strong customer experience like a positive employee experience does. My grounding and constant objective as chief operating officer is to be a source of support and guidance for our Petco partners so that, in turn, they can help pets be healthy and happy. I focus on removing obstacles and continuously improving our internal processes. Some tried-and-true tactics I'd recommend for other retail leaders are:

• Regular store visits – Store visits are invaluable for helping me stay in sync with on-the-ground teams so I can efficiently provide each of them with the right support. Make sure you approach engagements from the standpoint of genuinely wanting to help. This creates loyalty and a positive and collaborative culture, which in turn delivers the best possible customer experience.
• Empower team members to speak up and act – Fostering a culture where your people can ask questions, big or small, without judgement can help identify critical gaps in processes or plans. Giving them ownership in processes also creates more room for proactive escalation and delegation.
• Solicit and embrace unfiltered employee feedback – Actively soliciting and addressing honest feedback from frontline employees, including challenges they may be facing, improves trust, agility and effectiveness.
• Be prescriptive and granular in training – Including do's and don'ts for frontline employees ensures smooth and seamless execution during routine operations, which further removes friction from the customer experience.

Photo courtesy of Petco.