Testing the Hypothesis

The Identified Opportunity

• The Who: Dog owners in the United States
• The What: Only a small percentage of them are using a subscription service to provide their dogs with toys, treats, and necessities 
• The Why: Challenges associated with current service's pricing and current services only provide toys and treats for pampering rather than including necessities for dogs

The Interview Results

Testing the who

Are there others who have this need?

• Because of the broad "Who" the others that have this need could only expand to other pet owners or countries outside the United States. From the people I interviewed, two suggested expanding the who beyond the United States but the main focus of the pet subscription service industry is to ship to consumers cheaply. As for the person I interviewed that suggested to expand the who to other pets, I rebutted by explaining that dog lovers seem to be the most invested pet owners and it will be easier to just focus on this segment. I did learn from one of the people that I interviewed that it is important to focus the who on those dog owners that are younger and busier with less time to focus on their dogs.

Testing the what

What are the boundaries of the need?

• The main challenge is the pricing of the pet services focused on the subscription method.  People want the convenience of having pet products shipped to them but often struggle with the price included. By being able to purchase products in bulk quantities for cheaper prices and developing a great infrastructure, a great value can be offered to consumers. The general consensus from those I interviewed is that they wouldn't want to pay roughly $30 monthly but would be more willing to pay closer to $20. I believe this is partly because I interviewed mainly students with little money. I did learn though that when I suggested shipping necessary products that dogs need every month for the $20 price it was really well received. Another boundary one of the people I interviewed with mentioned was that having new toys every month may be unnecessary and too much for the average dog owner that doesn't feel they need to spoil the dog. He noted that an accumulation of toys would build up in the household to the point that the dog may not need toys anymore and to possibly focus more on treats, brushes, and even clothing.

Testing the why

What are the roots of the why?

• I initially believed that why people need this service is solely based on time and according to those I interviewed this is true but they also offered other whys. All five of the people I interviewed agreed that this services shipping dog products to owners are great to save people time but they also noted that this service is great for those that forget about treating their dogs with enough products and attention. In addition, another person I interviewed thinks that people want these services because its fun and exciting sense often the products inside are a surprise. They really believed that more people will pay for dog subscription services to make treating and taking care of your dog even more exciting.