Meijer increases its focus on pet care

Midwest retailer Meijer is expanding its pet departments for an even larger assortment of everyday essentials like food, grooming supplies and increasingly popular Halloween costumes.

The Grand Rapids, Mich.-based operator of more than 245 supercenters and grocery stores throughout Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and Wisconsin has made a significant investment in its pet departments in recent years. The pet departments inside each Meijer supercenter recently added another aisle to make room for an expanded assortment of food. The retailer carries dozens of types of pet food, including national brands like Blue Buffalo, Nutro, Nature's Recipe, Fresh Pet and Rachael Ray Nutrish, and private label True Goodness by Meijer.

With Halloween approaching, Meijer is helping pet owners find the perfect costume for their four-legged family members. According to the National Retail Federation, an estimated 29 million people plan to dress their pets up for Halloween. Meijer has its widest selection yet with 28 costumes and accessories for dogs and nine hats and collars for cats. New this year, Meijer has XL costumes — including a hot dog, taco, triceratops and spider — for large dog breeds.

“Halloween is a time for the entire family — even our favorite four-legged friends — to dress up for a fun night of trick-or-treating, and we wanted to make sure our assortment rose to the challenge,” said Shana Ward, director of pets merchandising for Meijer. “Pets are integral members of our customers’ families, and we are working diligently to ensure our pet departments remain top of mind for those fun celebrations but also for their total pet care needs.”

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In addition, at 40 Meijer supercenters the pet departments are now relocated to the back corner to offer a specialty-store feel with spacious displays for products like Halloween-themed pet toys. This represents a 30% increase in space compared to other Meijer stores.

And to help keep pets healthy, a handful of Meijer supercenters have VetIQ Petcare clinics that offer basic veterinary walk-in services like routine shots and treatments for minor illnesses. These clinics are located at the front of the supercenter with a separate exterior entrance that keeps the pets outside of the store.