In this article:
- Bark is partnering with REI to bring select products to its stores and site for customers who like to have their dogs with them on outdoor adventures.
- Now Rover can have gear of his own when you choose to camp out with him.
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Pet business has been booming. As we saw last year, pet adoption has skyrocketed since the pandemic struck, and vacations with four-legged companions naturally followed.
So there is some logic for the company Bark, which offers pet toys and food via subscription to launch a new partnership with a brand associated with outdoor adventures, REI. BarkBox toys are already sold through partnerships with select retailers like Amazon, Urban Outfitters, Target, and Bluestone Lane, among others.
As Modern Retail reports, some of the “outdoor-themed exclusive plush toys” and the resilient “Super Chewer” types of toys are now being offered in REI stores and on its site. Bark’s chief commercial officer Suzanne McDonnell explained that love of the outdoors and love of dogs often go hand-in-hand. (Or should we day hand-in-paw? Yes, we should)
“Our audience is active on a regular basis — whether that be hiking or running or biking – and they especially love being active with their dogs,” she told Modern Retail.
She added that it gives outdoorsy dog owners another venue in which to discover their products, particularly in brick-and-mortar stores: “Retail is a great place where people can learn about us, see us, touch and feel us in the real world.”
As a result, they gain brand recognition among potential customers without having to invest more in advertising. While the pairing of dogs and outdoors may appear less surprising than wine and the outdoors, the idea of combining products with other offerings – even bringing in crypto to fast food – is a fantastic way to test the waters with new audiences. And, as long as you use these initiatives to inject your CDP with that opportunistic customer data, and to build new customer segments based on it – you’ll be closing the loop in a way that can truly help your business bottom line over time.