Opening a store is easy; keeping it alive is the hard part. Many online pet shop owners are enthusiastic for the first three months, then quietly abandon their businesses when they see orders coming in but no money coming in. That failure is rarely due to the platform or competitors. It stems from a series of wrong decisions right from the start, and most of them can be recognized before the consequences become apparent.
The fundamental mistake: misidentifying the target audience from the very first day the booth opened.
The first and most common reason why online pet shop dealers fail is setting the wrong goals for their store. Dealers open a channel expecting to sell more, so they measure success by sales volume and compare themselves to shops with booming orders. The problem is that a small store doesn’t have a price advantage. Their cost of goods sold is based on moderate orders, while the other side consists of large wholesalers who buy directly from importers at significantly better prices. When two sides display the same product side-by-side, buyers only look at the final price. The result is that the dealer has to lower prices below a safe level to secure their first order, and that first order often results in a loss. The solution isn’t about trying to sell cheaper, but about changing the metrics. Give your store a different mission: build awareness and attract new customers, then measure success by the number of customers who have never bought from you before, instead of measuring sales on the platform.
The actual cost table for an order on the platform.
The second reason is that no one bothers to calculate all costs before listing a product. The selling price minus the cost of goods sold results in a positive number, leading retailers to believe they are making a profit. However, e-commerce platform fees don’t stop at the commission listed in the fee schedule. There are also payment fees, service fees, display advertising costs, shipping costs (which are very heavy for bulky items), packaging materials, labor costs for packing, and most importantly, the return rate. A returned order not only results in a loss of profit but also incurs two-way shipping costs, and the item may not be resold at its original price. Adding it all up, many product codes have negative profit margins, even though the shop owner still sees consistent orders. The solution is simple: create a table calculating the gross profit after all fees for each product code, set a minimum profit margin threshold, and remove any product codes that don’t exceed that threshold from the store.
Choosing the wrong items to list on the platform from day one.
The third reason is choosing the wrong product category. A retailer’s natural reaction is to list their best-selling items at the counter, which are large bags of pet food. However, this is precisely the product group most vulnerable in the digital environment because it’s heavy, bulky, has high shipping costs, is prone to tearing during transport, and requires personalized advice based on breed, age, and digestive needs of each animal. Meanwhile, according to Metric data, the best-selling price segment for pet supplies on e-commerce platforms is between 10,000 and 50,000 VND, mainly consisting of accessories and small items. In other words, the retailer is listing the exact product group that buyers on the platform are least likely to search for, and then concluding that this channel is ineffective. The sensible approach is to start with small, lightweight, standardized, and affordable products, using them as a gateway to new customers, while keeping large bags in the direct channel where they have a competitive advantage.
Undercutting prices on the exchange and clashing with suppliers.
The fourth reason is entering a price war where you don’t have control over the rules. The pet product market on the platform has thousands of sellers exploiting nearly identical product lines, sourcing from a few similar suppliers. When products are indistinguishable and buyers compare prices in seconds, the only remaining competitive tool is price reduction. A worse situation arises when the distributor’s own supplier also opens a retail store. At that point, the competitor is at the original price level, while the distributor is at the discounted price level – a battle with a predictable outcome. Therefore, price dumping on the platform won’t win customers from anyone, only thin your own profit margin and drag down the overall price level in the area. Before opening a channel, directly ask the supplier if they sell retail and if they have a price protection policy for their system, then compete through bundles and services instead of just numbers.
Just copy the supplier’s image and paste it onto the platform, then sit back and wait for orders.
The fifth reason is a misunderstanding of what is actually generating orders. Many retailers download product photos from suppliers, paste in pre-made descriptions, set prices, and then wait. Metric data shows that this approach goes against market trends: TikTok Shops account for approximately 30.6% of pet supply industry revenue but only 18.5% of sales volume, meaning each order here is significantly more valuable. This platform wins because of its content and livestreaming sales of pets, not because it offers lower prices. When sellers explain ingredients, compare different types of food, and address customer concerns while they are watching, customers are more likely to buy larger packages. A shop using the same photo set that hundreds of other shops are also using has nothing to offer customers. Importantly, this is where retailers excel, as their staff already understand the products. Shoot short videos right in the store, take real photos, and turn your existing consulting skills into unique content.
There is no operating procedure, so it is displayed on the floor.
The sixth, less-discussed but fastest-acting reason for pet shop failures is a lack of established processes. Digital transformation for pet shops isn’t just about opening a seller account; it’s about integrating a streamlined operational workflow into an existing store. On the platform, customer messages need to be answered within a very short timeframe, inventory must match between the physical store and the online shop, and orders must be processed and delivered on time. Sellers often handle both in-store and online orders simultaneously, resulting in messages accumulating for hours, items selling out before they’re removed from the online shop, and orders being cancelled. Platforms score sellers based on response speed, cancellation rate, and on-time delivery rate; low scores lead to lower visibility and a natural drop in views. At that point, the shop owner thinks the market is saturated, but in reality, they’ve just lost points due to system deductions. The solution is to assign someone to manage specific time slots, establish a fixed daily packing schedule, and synchronize inventory with each import and export transaction.
Successful in making sales but unable to retain online customers.
The seventh reason, and the one that discourages many the most, is that sales are made but customers aren’t owned. On the platform, buyers belong to the platform, not the store. They search by keywords, choose by price and offers, and after buying, they almost never remember who they bought from. This might be acceptable in other industries, but not in pet food, because the nature of this industry is repeat purchases in short cycles, and the value of a customer lies in years, not just one order. Dealers spend money on advertising to get the first order, then let the customer slip away, and the next month they spend money on a new customer, so the cash flow is never positive. To retain online customers, each shipment must include a reason to return: a product instruction card with store information, an offer for the next purchase on the direct channel, an invitation to join a consultation group, and a reminder when the customer’s food is running low.
Online store clashes with its own physical store.
The eighth reason is self-inflicted. To get orders, the retailer lists prices lower than those at the counter, plus discount codes and platform promotions. These prices are publicly displayed, and the retailer’s own regular customers are the first to check. After only a few weeks, customers start calling the counter demanding the platform price, putting the staff at a disadvantage in advising them, and dragging down the previously healthy profit margin of the direct channel. Overall, the retailer doesn’t gain new customers but only moves existing customers from the more profitable channel to the less profitable one, while simultaneously undermining its own pricing strategy. The safe principle is to maintain a consistent price level between the two channels and differentiate elsewhere: separate combo packages for each channel, complimentary gifts, same-day delivery, or on-site consultation. When price is no longer a variable, the retailer and the store will work towards a common goal.
The right approach: attract customers online, retain them through direct channels.
Combining these eight reasons reveals a clear model for online pet shop businesses. The digital channel should be responsible for creating awareness and initiating relationships, while profit and customer lifecycle management belong to the direct channel, where brick-and-mortar stores still account for approximately 72.44% of industry revenue, according to Mordor Intelligence. Implementation follows three phases. Phase one: Choose compact, cost-effective product lines to lead customers, accepting a thin margin as this is the cost of attracting customers, not profit. Phase two: Increase order value through combos instead of discounts; according to Thuy Tran from Pety, consumers are willing to spend between 200,000 and 500,000 VND on a product combo, meaning the potential lies in value-added packaging. Phase three: Transfer first-time customers to your controlled channel to encourage repeat purchases. Measured by the number of converted customers, online sales failure will no longer be the default outcome.
Petkin’s perspective on how Pet Shop distributors sell online.
Petkin is an importer and distributor of pet food, operating on a wholesale model rather than direct retail sales. Therefore, we view this situation from a system perspective. The majority of online Pet Shop failures don’t stem from the shop owner’s capabilities, but rather from the burden of managing costs, content creation, and market pricing all by themselves. That’s why we believe the primary responsibility is to avoid competing with their retail partners, maintain stable tiered pricing, and provide accurate product images and information so each point of sale has the materials to create compelling content. Digital channels will become even more important over time, but they are only profitable when positioned correctly within a disciplined system. If you’re looking to open an online channel without sacrificing profit margins, start by standardizing your product catalog and choosing long-term partners.