This week, dog toy and treat retailer Bark—known for its subscription service BarkBox—began selling three of its product collections on apparel retailer Urban Outfitters Inc.’s online marketplace, UO MRKT.
Selling its products on another e-commerce site will get Bark’s products in front of more shoppers, says a Bark spokesman.
“As we look to further build out our retail partner network, we typically have to choose between mass accessibility and volume-driving partners and influential, like-minded brand partners. Urban Outfitters is both,” the Bark spokesman says.
Bark designs 99% of its SKUs, and the retailer has a manufacturer produce them. Bark sells its subscription service on BarkBox.com and has a separate site Barkshop.com where shoppers can buy single products without a subscription.
Even though Urban Outfitters is not a traditional retailer where consumers shop for pet products, there is a clear demographic overlap, the spokesman says. For example, both sites have a similar younger shopping base: 47.9% of shoppers at UrbanOutfitters.com are under the age of 34, according to Top500Guide.com, and 40.7% of shoppers who visit Barkshop.com are under the age of 34, according to SimilarWeb data. The Urban Outfitters platform will allow Bark to “further lean into the cheekiness, attitude and millennial-savvy nature of our brand in a way that we haven’t been able to before,” the spokesman says.
“As dog people, we relate with our customers on a uniquely personal level and are committed to finding new ways to connect with them in non-traditional destinations and experiences,” says Rich Sargente, general manager and vice president of sales at Bark. “We’re excited to have Urban Outfitters as our next partner to allow us to further lean into the clever, raw personality that has kept our growing audience engaged with us over the years.”
Bark began distributing its products with Target Corp. about a year ago, where they are available on Target.com and in Target’s 1,800 stores. “We look forward to continuing to strengthen [the Target] relationship in the years ahead as we expand our network of unique retailer partners, each of which we serve with custom collections and marketing strategies that directly relate to their specific customer bases,” the spokesman says.
Earlier this year it embarked on an arrangement with Funboy, a California pool float company, to sell Bark-themed pool rafts (human and dog-sized) on Funboy.com and Barkshop.com.
The Bark products available on Urban, which include dog toys, dog photo props and tote bags made for walking a dog, are available both on UrbanOutfitters.com and BarkShop.com. In September, Bark will launch a line of “fun and seasonal toys,” specifically for Urban Outfitters, the spokesman says.
Urban Outfitters launched its marketplace in May, and it is integrated into its main shopping site. Marketplace products appear alongside Urban’s own products, and if the product is sold by a marketplace seller, Urban Outfitters labels it as a “UO MRKT” product. The retailer is working with marketplace technology vendor Mirakl for UO MRKT.
Urban Outfitters is No. 39 Internet Retailer 2018 Top 500, and Target is No. 17.