Walmart announced May 22 that Walmart+ members will have access to 24/7 telehealth pet services. The benefit will begin later in 2024 through virtual pet care company Pawp.

Members will be able to consult veterinary professionals on questions outside of normal vet office hours, Walmart said. The retailer first launched the benefit as a pilot in 2023. It had a high redemption rate and became the most popular limited-time offer of the year. 

“Our focus has always been on evolving Walmart+ in a way that puts our members first,” said Venessa Yates, senior vice president and general manager of Walmart+.

“Seeing how well-received Pawp was as a limited-time offer, we knew it was a valuable addition that would enhance the Walmart+ experience. This new benefit illustrates our continued evolution, as we strive to provide seamless, time-saving and affordable solutions tailored to our members’ needs,” she continued.

Walmart is No. 2 in the Top 1000, Digital Commerce 360’s ranking of North America’s online retailers by web sales. It is also No. 9 in the Global Online Marketplaces Database, Digital Commerce 360’s ranking of top such marketplaces by third-party gross merchandise value (GMV).

What benefits Pawp telehealth will bring Walmart+ subscribers

Walmart says professionals through Pawp can offer members general advice or a second opinion.

Members will receive:

• Free care: Walmart+ members can use Pawp at no additional cost, saving the $99 annual fee.
• Access to experts: Pawp has veterinarians and vet techs with at least five years of clinical experiences apiece.
• 24/7 vet access: Members can talk to veterinary professionals by text and video any time of day or night. There’s no limit to virtual visits on the plan.
• Personalized plans: Pet owners will get care plans after visits with product recommendations.

“At Pawp, our mission is to make high quality, convenient pet care accessible to a much larger part of the population and, for over a year now, Walmart+ has been an incredible partner in helping us realize this vision,” said Marc Atiyeh, CEO of Pawp. “We’re excited to deepen this relationship by incorporating Pawp as an ongoing, first-of-its-kind pet health benefit for Walmart+ and look forward to supporting Walmart+ members with their pets care for years to come.”

Walmart exits other healthcare ventures

In April, Walmart announced it would close all 51 of its health centers. It will also shut down its virtual health care operations.

“There is not a sustainable business model for us to continue,” Walmart said in a press release. “This is a difficult decision, and like others, the challenging reimbursement environment and escalating operating costs create a lack of profitability that make the care business unsustainable for us at this time.”

As recently as March 2023, Walmart planned to continue expanding its health care footprint. At the time, it announced plans to open an additional 28 health centers in 2024, for a total of 79 U.S. locations. The new locations were planned for Texas, Arizona and Missouri.

In that announcement, Walmart also noted some changes to the layout of Walmart Health Centers going forward. The retailer said it was changing the physical footprint of the centers to allow patients to spend less time in waiting rooms, and integrating more modern technology.

Other retailers offering pet telehealth

Online pet retailer Chewy has “Connect with a Vet,” a service similar to Pawp. All Chewy customers can access the live chat service for free between 6 a.m. EDT and 12 a.m. EDT. They can also pay $19.99 for a 20-minute video appointment. 

Chewy has invested heavily in pet health recently, becoming the largest online pet pharmacy.

The ecommerce pet company launched its pharmacy in 2018 and added a compounding pharmacy, which can mix custom medications needed for patients, in 2020. Chewy has since launched pet insurance. It also owns and publishes PetMD, averaging over 5 million unique visits per month, according to analysis from SimilarWeb.

Chewy aims to make health care 30% of its revenue eventually. In its most recent fiscal quarter ended Jan. 28, Chewy reported net sales of $2.83 billion.

More recently, it opened its first vet clinic in Florida.

Chewy ranks No. 12 in the Top 1000.

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