Afterpay helps make vet care more manageable while supporting business growth.
VetPartners clinics treat more than a million animals every year, from cats and dogs to the occasional crocodile. But while the animals may vary, the owners all want the same thing: a happy, healthy pet.
That’s why VetPartners offers Afterpay, which helps customers spread the costs of vet bills.
“Sometimes vet bills are unexpected,” says VetPartners chief client officer Jon Wild. “Afterpay alleviates that. It helps us treat pets better and build the best possible patient experience.”
Since launching across the VetPartners network, Afterpay has become a popular payment option, used by one in five customers. Not only that, but Afterpay helps VetPartners attract a new demographic and increase average order value.
About VetPartners
With more than 270 clinics and speciality hospitals across Australia and New Zealand, VetPartners is one of the region’s largest veterinary networks. Alongside general practice clinics, the group operates specialist services, spanning oncology, surgery and complex care.
More than 95 per cent of VetPartners clinics offer Afterpay.
A more flexible way to pay
Pets have never played a bigger role in Australian households. For many owners, they’re family members – and people are increasingly investing in their health and wellness. “Pets have a profound impact on people’s lives,” says Wild. “They’re an emotional investment.”
That means that, for owners, being faced with a sick animal and a large bill can be an incredibly stressful experience – especially given that only one in five VetPartners customers has pet insurance. “The mindset of a pet owner is ‘I will do everything for that pet’.”
Offering Afterpay helps relieve that stress by enabling pet owners to spread the cost of vet bills, says Wild, who has observed this firsthand. “I’ve sat in quite a number of clinics… and you can see customers’ relief knowing they’re able to pay [flexible payment methods]"
“The mindset of a pet owner is ‘I will do everything for that pet’.”
Jon Wild, VetPartners chief client officer
Reducing stress at critical moments
Afterpay doesn’t just improve the customer experience, it helps vets, too. “Vets are, by nature, extremely empathetic, and being a vet can be a very stressful job,” says Wild, who explains that many vets struggle with conversations around large costs at a time when customers are already worried about a sick pet.
“If you have Afterpay as a solution, that creates an alternative.”
"Afterpay allows us to talk to a new part of the marketplace."
Jon Wild, VetPartners chief client officer
Reaching new customers
Since the pandemic, there’s been a seismic shift in pet ownership. Not only has the number of pet owners soared, but the profile of the typical pet owner has changed, too.
“We’re seeing a lot of younger pet parents,” says Wild, pointing to the number of young couples who become ‘pet parents’ before they become actual parents.
Afterpay has proved critical in attracting those younger clients, says Wild, who explains that customers paying with Afterpay are much younger than VetPartner’s typical demographic.
“I think that’s one of the reasons why this partnership is so successful. We would [traditionally] skew towards families and Baby Boomers, whereas Afterpay allows us to talk to a new part of the marketplace. Afterpay is helping onramp and introduce new customers to the veterinary channel.”
That, he says, is crucial to future-proofing VetPartners’ business.
“Afterpay helps us treat pets better, and that’s the core of what we want to do."
Jon Wild, VetPartners chief client officer
Supporting better treatment decisions
Offering Afterpay has other benefits. The average Afterpay transaction is around 30 per cent higher than VetPartners’ average order value. Wild believes this is because Afterpay customers feel more confident investing in premium treatments or purchasing additional nutrition products and supplements.
Often, he says, vets must offer treatment solutions that are both right for the patient and financially realistic for the pet owner. Afterpay enables vets to suggest solutions that deliver the best outcomes for pets.
“Afterpay helps us treat pets better, and that’s the core of what we want to do. We want to build the best possible patient experience and by virtue of that, the best possible client experience.”
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