PetSmart, one of the largest pet retail chains in North America, has been struggling to keep cat food in stock in many of its stores across the country. Shelves that once held dozens of varieties of wet and dry cat food now sit empty, leaving feline shoppers frustrated. So what’s causing the shortage of cat food at PetSmart?
Increased Demand for Cat Food
One of the main reasons behind PetSmart’s cat food shortage is increased demand. According to the American Pet Products Association, cat ownership in the U.S. has been steadily rising over the past few decades. As of 2022, American households owned around 94.2 million pet cats, up from 74 million in 2000. With more cats in homes across the nation, demand for cat food has naturally increased as well.
The COVID-19 pandemic further fueled growth in cat ownership, with many people looking for animal companionship during lockdowns. Adoptions and foster numbers spiked in 2020 and 2021, meaning even more hungry felines are now being fed across the country. PetSmart simply hasn’t been able to keep up with the growing legions of cat owners stocking up on food.
Supply Chain Disruptions
While demand is up, supply chain issues have made it harder for PetSmart to maintain adequate inventory of cat food. Like many other industries, pet food manufacturers have been struggling with shortages of raw materials, packaging, cans, and labor. Production and transportation delays have led to lower supplies making it to store shelves.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has put further pressure on pet food supplies. Ukraine is a major exporter of corn and wheat, grains that are common ingredients in many cat food products. With the region mired in war, less Ukrainian grain has been able to make it to global markets. Manufacturers must deal with pricier or harder to obtain ingredients.
The shortage has impacted wet and dry cat food, as well as prescription diets. Popular brands like Iams, Purina, and Blue Buffalo have all been affected. The situation is likely to persist as long as demand keeps rising and supply chain woes hamper production.
PetSmart’s Troubled Supply Chain
While the entire pet industry is grappling with supply and demand mismatches, PetSmart faces some unique inventory challenges that have exacerbated shortages in its stores.
Unlike competitors Petco and Chewy, PetSmart does not directly manage its own pet food supply chain. Instead, it relies on third-party distributors and vendors like Dot Foods and Core-Mark to handle logistics and deliver products to each of its 1,650+ locations. This complex network makes it harder to respond quickly to stock outs and distribution hiccups.
PetSmart is also disadvantaged by not selling online or delivering direct to consumer homes like Chewy does. Its brick-and-mortar only model limits flexibility in shifting inventory between markets to meet demand. Empty shelves in one store can’t be quickly replenished from abundant stocks in another store halfway across the country.
PetSmart vs. Competitors: Supply Chain Comparison
| Company | Supply Chain Type | Online Sales |
|---|---|---|
| PetSmart | Third-party distributors | No |
| Petco | Direct distribution | Yes |
| Chewy | Direct distribution | Yes |
This more fragmented supply chain and lack of omnichannel sales abilities makes PetSmart slower to adapt to interruptions like materials shortages or spikes in demand.
Hoarding and Stockpiling by Customers
On top of increased overall demand, instances of hoarding and stockpiling among customers have added further strain on PetSmart’s cat food inventory.
Anxious cat owners have been buying up extra bags and cases of cat food to build up reserves in case the shortage worsens. Some are purchasing well beyond their normal needs. This hoarding shrinks availability of cat food on shelves for other shoppers. It accelerates the appearance of empty shelves in stores as stock disappears into customers’ pantries.
Images of bare cat food aisles shared on social media have also spurred stockpiling behaviors. Concerned their local PetSmart will run out, some owners drive around gathering cat food from multiple locations. This further depletes regional inventories.
PetSmart has begun rationing sales by limiting the number of food bags or cases each customer can purchase in a single transaction. But determined hoarders find ways around these limits by making multiple trips or having family members separately buy cat food too.
Average PetSmart Customers are Stockpiling More Cat Food
| Year | Average Cat Food Purchased Per Customer |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 2 bags |
| 2020 | 3 bags |
| 2021 | 4 bags |
| 2022 | 5 bags |
Stockpiling behaviors will likely continue as long as shortages persist, making it even harder for PetSmart to keep pace with demand.
Responses from PetSmart
With growing frustration from cat owners, PetSmart has responded with several initiatives aimed at alleviating the shortages:
- Working closely with vendors and distributors to identify production bottlenecks and transportation issues
- Increasing imports of foreign-produced cat food brands to boost inventory
- Chartering extra ships and planes to accelerate deliveries from manufacturers overseas
- Relaxing out-of-stock limits to allow stores to order above the usual thresholds
- Diverting inventory between distribution centers to move cat food to high-demand areas
The company has also been transparent with customers, acknowledging the supply challenges and explaining the factors impacting availability. Promotions advertise which cat food products are expected to be in stock to help guide shoppers. Some locations have offered customers rainchecks if their preferred formulas are unavailable.
However, the sheer magnitude of increased demand, transportation headaches, and production constraints have overwhelmed PetSmart’s mitigation efforts so far. The company appears likely to face cat food shortfalls at many stores for some time.
Long-Term Solutions
For PetSmart to completely resolve its cat food shortage woes, more fundamental supply chain shifts may be required. Some steps that could help include:
- Insourcing distribution rather than relying on third parties – this would give PetSmart more visibility and control over its supply chain
- Partnering more strategically with manufacturers to gain priority access to ingredients and production capacity
- Considering an omnichannel model by launching online sales and home delivery options
- Identifying alternate suppliers globally to reduce dependence on any one vendor or region
- Investing in supply chain technology and inventory management systems to forecast demand more precisely
Undertaking initiatives like these could provide structural improvements empowering PetSmart to respond faster and more flexibly. But in the meantime, sporadic cat food shortages seem likely to frustrate pet parents making their usual shopping rounds.
Conclusion
PetSmart’s struggle to keep its shelves stocked with cat food is driven by a perfect storm of surging demand, constrained supplies, distribution challenges, and customer stockpiling. With cat ownership still on the rise and supply chains fragile, the shortages may persist for some time. Pet owners will need to get creative finding alternative sources or brands of cat food until PetSmart can implement major changes to bolster its inventory management and fulfillment capabilities. In the meantime, cat lovers should take comfort that the shortages reflect the growing population of pampered and well-fed felines living in caring homes.