Navigating Pet Supplies Fulfillment For E-Commerce Growth

Jun 12, 2025

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As more pet parents shop online for everything from grain-free kibble to refrigerated meals and custom accessories, brands are expanding internationally to meet demand. International growth brings a unique set of fulfillment challenges. From meeting growing sustainability expectations to managing inventory with automation and ensuring fast last-mile delivery, fulfillment in the pet category demands both precision and adaptability.

This blog post breaks down how pet supplies retailers can build smart, scalable strategies to meet rising e-commerce demand.

United States: High Volume, Strong Online Momentum

The U.S. remains the world’s largest pet care market, with total industry spending (across all channels) projected to reach $150.6 billion in 2024 . Of that, $32.4 billion came from online sales in 2023 — a figure expected to rise to $51.2 billion by 2030.

According to report, American pet owners increasingly prefer online shopping:

- 65% cite convenience and avoiding store trips
- 56% cite better pricing
- 55% say it saves time

This trend spans categories, from auto-shipped kibble to niche supplements and custom pet beds. U.S. retailers are expanding SKUs and optimizing fulfillment networks to maintain quick delivery standards since the online expectations of delivery time are rising.

Pet Supplies Product

Europe: Expanding Market with Evolving Infrastructure

Europe’s e-commerce pet market is smaller but growing rapidly. In 2023, it was valued at $26.9 billion, with forecasts projecting $42.9 billion by 2030, representing annual growth of around 7%. Half of all European households now own pets, contributing to a pet population expected to reach 352 million by 2024.

While online pet shopping continues to accelerate, Europe’s fulfillment landscape is more fragmented than the U.S., due to multiple languages, varied tax regimes, and country-specific logistics infrastructures. Nevertheless, pan-European platforms and cross-border sellers are expanding rapidly, investing in multilingual support, localized warehousing, and sustainable packaging to meet both consumer and regulatory expectations.

Emerging Trends in Pet Product Fulfillment

Warehouse Automation and SKU-Specific Fulfillment

As pet e-commerce scales, so does operational complexity—from handling oversized food bags to managing thousands of diverse SKUs. Modern fulfillment centers are meeting these demands with cutting-edge automation. Robotic shuttles, goods-to-person picking systems, and AI-driven box resizers now make it possible to process over 14,000 unique pet SKUs and ship up to 36 parcels per minute. These technologies enhance picking accuracy, speed, and efficiency, whether a chew toy or prescription diet, is delivered quickly and correctly to meet each pet’s unique needs.

Green Packaging Initiatives

Eco-conscious pet owners are driving demand for greener supply chains. From biodegradable packaging to carbon-neutral shipping options. In Europe, upcoming regulations require 100% recyclable packaging by 2030. Sustainability isn’t a bonus — it’s a core strategy to meet regulations, cut costs, and win customer loyalty in international markets.

Cross-Border Fulfillment and Next-Day Delivery as a Strategic Priority

With pet supply e-commerce expanding globally, cross-border fulfillment has become a core logistics challenge. However, delivering across regions while meeting pet owners’ expectations for speed is no small feat. That’s why next-day or even same-day delivery is now a strategic priority—particularly in urban markets. Fulfillment networks with distributed inventory, localized last-mile delivery, and customs expertise are critical for enabling seamless cross-border operations with short delivery windows.

How CIRRO Fulfillment powers your pet brand's growth?

Warehouse Automation

Across our intelligent fulfillment centers in the U.S. and Europe, advanced robotics are widely used to handle everything from heavy parcels to small accessories. We use a range of automation technologies—including Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs), Shelf-to-Person Robots, and Carton Transfer Unit Mobile Robots to enhance picking and packing efficiency.

These robots support key operations such as picking, shelf placement, and inventory counting. With 24/7 uninterrupted workflows, they deliver up to three times higher efficiency and a 99.99% accuracy rate, enabling an average daily inbound and outbound capacity of 26,000 units.

Custom, Sustainable Packaging

CIRRO Fulfillment supports recyclable and branded packaging options that meet EU sustainability regulations and enhance customer experience — ideal for subscription kits, retail orders, and DTC shipments.

Fast and Reliable Shipping

With a 99.26% delivery success rate, we offer same-day fulfillment for orders placed by 3 PM and a variety of shipping options, from expedited to economy shipping. With a global network of 80+ fulfillment centers across the US and Europe, you can reduce transit times and shipping costs, ensuring your customers receive their orders quickly and reliably.

Efficient Returns and Reverse Logistics

Localized return solutions and streamlined restocking processes are essential to maintaining customer satisfaction while minimizing waste. By enabling fast inspections, quick reintegration into inventory, and optimized reverse logistics, we can help reduce return-related costs and turn potential losses into regained value.

Scalable Infrastructure for Seasonal Peaks

Whether you're preparing for holiday surges, product launches, or promotional campaigns, CIRRO Fulfillment ’s scalable systems and automation ensure reliable, high-volume fulfillment without sacrificing accuracy.

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