PetFlow Boosts Engagement and Drives In-Store Traffic with Web Push Notifications

• Analytics & Modeling - Machine Learning
• Cybersecurity & Privacy - Intrusion Detection

• Equipment & Machinery
• Retail

• Sales & Marketing

• Retail Store Automation
• Traffic Monitoring

PetFlow, a leading retail brand of specialty pet food and supplies, was facing a significant challenge in late 2016. Despite their data-driven culture and personalized advice attracting pet lovers, they noticed a consistent decline in the engagement their customers and prospects had with email, their most powerful channel. This was a major concern, especially as the cost to acquire new customers was increasing and retaining existing customers was becoming a necessary activity. The Director of Marketing, Andrea Barsk, recognized that relying solely on email as an engagement channel was not sustainable. Simply sending out more promotional emails to get more sales was not a viable long-term strategy, as it could negatively impact deliverability and the bottom line.

PetFlow is a leading retail brand of specialty pet food and supplies. They offer a wide range of products, including food, treats, toys, bedding, accessories, and health supplies, with convenient auto-ship options. PetFlow has a data-driven culture and is known for providing personalized advice to pet lovers. Despite their success, they faced a challenge with declining email engagement, which was a major concern as email was their most powerful channel. The company needed a solution that would not only address this issue but also help in retaining existing customers and reducing the cost of acquiring new ones.

To address this challenge, Andrea and her team turned to an emerging new channel - web push notifications. These notifications, also known as browser push notifications, were being adopted by media brands for pushing out breaking news alerts. Recognizing that few online retailers were leveraging this tool, PetFlow decided to implement it. They partnered with MoEngage to set up and deliver web push notifications to desktop and mobile devices based on a user’s on-site behavior. MoEngage worked with the PetFlow marketing team to create a series of behavior-driven campaigns which took an individual's behavior on the site and automatically created messaging to drive action. Two key automated campaigns were set up: Browse Abandonment notifications and Shopping Cart abandonment notifications. These notifications were personalized and automatically delivered within a time window at the optimum time for response, using MoEngage’s machine learning tool, Sherpa.

• The implementation of web push notifications had a positive impact on PetFlow's operations. The results were very encouraging, especially as the campaigns ran automatically, allowing the marketing team to focus on building the framework while MoEngage automated it. This not only improved customer engagement but also helped in driving in-store traffic. PetFlow was able to personalize browse and cart abandonment notifications to include the address of the closest store based on an individual’s IP address. They also ran a weekly recurring campaign to drive store traffic. Even promotions received strong attention, with a one-time Saturday campaign for Earth Day driving a 5.5% CTR. Overall, the use of web push notifications proved to be a strategic move for PetFlow in enhancing engagement and retention.

• Web push notifications led to increased engagement with customers and prospects.
• Automated campaigns allowed the marketing team to focus on building the framework while MoEngage automated it.
• A one-time Saturday campaign for Earth Day drove a 5.5% click-through rate (CTR).