Tractor Supply Leverages Pandemic Pet Opportunity
Tractor Supply Co. is looking to leverage soaring pet supply sales by relaunching a series of pet events designed to bring pet owners back to the store.
During Pet Appreciation Week (PAW), Tractor Supply will support local animal shelters through the Rescue Your Rescue contest and is teaming up with Miranda Lambert’s MuttNation Foundation to host pet supply drives across the country. The festivities also coincide with the reopening of more than 1,500 PetVet community clinics at Tractor Supply stores.
The celebrations kick off in early September with the $25,000 Rescue Your Rescue contest, co-sponsored by Tractor Supply and Canidae premium pet food. Voting begins on the top 25 nominees on Sept. 24, with winners to be revealed Oct. 5. The contest highlights organizations around the country doing the work of rescuing and finding homes for animals. This marks Rescue Your Rescue’s eighth year.
Since the pandemic hit, animal shelters across the country have reported a spike in the number of pet adoptions and sales of pet products have soared to $24 million for the 24 weeks ending Aug. 15, up 202% from the same period last year, according to Nielsen research.
"Supporting pets and animals is one of our key focuses at Tractor Supply, and we know that pets are also near and dear to our customers, making this one of our most popular events,” said Nicole Logan, VP/divisional merchandise manager at Brentwood, Tennessee-based Tractor Supply. “Each year, we are amazed by the turnout and the support we see in our contest nominations and pet supply drive donations. We also love the variety of pets that come visit our stores, building on those local relationships that are core to who we are.”
Tractor Supply will also support animal shelters through a pet supply drive with Miranda Lambert’s MuttNation Foundation. During PAW and through Sept. 27, customers can drop off new pet supplies, including food, toys, cleaning and grooming supplies, and pet accessories, at any Tractor Supply location. Collected items will be donated to local rescues and shelters.
Earlier this year, Tractor Supply teamed up with Lambert on a new pet care line, On The Farm, offering an assortment of balanced, nutritional recipes for both dogs and cats, made with real beef or chicken and other natural ingredients.
Tractor Supply Co. operates 1,881 Tractor Supply stores in 49 states and an e-commerce website at TractorSupply.com. The company also owns and operates Petsense, a small-box pet specialty supply retailer focused on meeting the needs of pet owners, primarily in small and midsize communities, and offering a variety of pet products and services. There are 180 Petsense stores in 25 states.
