Amazon, Tractor Supply now offering online pet pharmacies

Now joining the ranks of mega retailers Chewy and Petco in offering online pet pharmacies are Amazon and Tractor Supply.

The recent announcements aren’t unexpected. A 2024 study published in JAVMA, “Convenience and price drive online pharmacy usage by veterinary clients,” analyzing 158 surveys highlighted convenience as a driving factor, as “consumers are protective of their time.”

Retailer announcements

Amazon, which has been steadily branching into both the human health and pet care space in recent years, is expanding its portfolio to now include pet prescriptions for “the convenience of one-stop shopping with reliable delivery,” according to a May 8 announcement.

Under its partnership with Vetsource, which will manage the dispensing and delivery of medications, pet owners on Amazon can search for their pet’s prescription and at checkout, input their prescribing veterinarian’s information for approval.

Only FDA-approved prescriptions will be available, including most commonly prescribed medications such as flea and tick preventives as well as treatments for chronic conditions, with more to be added.

Lynn Fondon, a Brakke Consulting senior consultant, in a recent Viewpoint predicts Amazon, already the No. 2 source for online pet medication purchases, will take over the top spot in “only a matter of time,” given that over 9 in 10 Americans are active users of the e-commerce giant.

Rural lifestyle retailer Tractor Supply also moved into the arena with the launch of Tractor Supply Rx in April, which follows its acquisition of online pet pharmacy Allivet in December.

“With three out of four of our 38 million Neighbor’s Club members owning a pet or animal, we have continually sought ways to provide an easy, one-stop shopping destination for all of their needs,” said Rob Mills, Tractor Supply’s executive vice president, chief technology, digital and corporate strategy officer, in a press release. “Through our swift integration of Allivet, we can scale this digital business into our stores to provide a compelling animal health offering wherever our customers choose to shop.”

Veterinarians’ advantage amid competition

Amid increasing competition from companies vying for market share in online pet pharmacies, alongside growing inflation worries and plunging consumer sentiment, veterinarians still have a key advantage.

A recent AVMA Chart of the Month, “Convenience is key for pet medications,” shows veterinary practices take top spot when it comes to pet medication purchases.

Specifically, veterinary practices were the source of pet medication purchases among 53.6% and 47.5% of dog owners in 2023 and 2024, and 52.1% and 46.3% of cat owners, respectively, according to the 2024 AVMA Pet Ownership and Demographics Sourcebook.

Meanwhile, online marketplaces, including Amazon and Tractor Supply before the launch of their online pet pharmacies, accounted for 6.4% of dog owner and 9.0% cat owners’ usual source of pet medication in 2023, and 6.2% and 8.4% in 2024, respectively.

Online specialist retailers, including businesses like Chewy, accounted for 8.0% of dog owner and 9.1% cat owners’ usual source of pet medication in 2023 and 9.3% and 8.1% in 2024, respectively, according to the sourcebook.

Pet owners use online shopping and home delivery now more than ever and these services represent an important component of a veterinarian clinic’s overall business, according to the 2023 Brakke Pet Medications Home Delivery Study. At the same time, pet owners trust their veterinarians implicitly and would prefer to buy pet prescriptions from their veterinarian if all things were equal, the study found.

“As the pet industry continues to grow, so does the demand for convenient and accessible avenues for pet healthcare,” according to Brakke. “In today’s highly competitive environment, veterinarians must offer innovative, convenient shopping solutions to successfully compete with online pharmacies and retail pet stores.”

Sourcebook data back up that conclusion. Convenience was the No. 1 reason behind dog owners’ choice of their usual source of pet medications in both 2023 and 2024, and the same was true for cat owners in 2024. In 2023, the No. 1 reason for cat owners was availability of certain medications, according to AVMA data.

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine who looked at veterinary clinics’ online pharmacy offerings arrived at a more nuanced conclusion: Online users prioritize price, while veterinary clinic users value personalized experience.

“For veterinary clinics attempting to increase revenue, appealing to these two distinct driving values is essential,” the authors wrote in the 2024 JAVMA article. “Offering practice-directed online pharmacies with competitive and transparent pricing could procure online consumers, while maintaining a personalized experience remains important for consumers purchasing prescriptions in-house.”