Pets are a major part of many people’s lives. Well, they are for me, given that I have a high chance of becoming a cat devotee. However, there is one thing that is a major part of our lives, and this would be applications. Applications have a fundamental presence in anyone’s life, as they take care of most of it and make it much easier. From transportation to retail, and more. Hello! What does this have to do with pets? Well, aren’t they one of the aspects that can be taken care of by application? If this is a new fact for you, then you should read this article. In this article, we will demonstrate the emerging category of pet apps, which covers everything from pet care to vet services. Read on to learn how to choose the perfect app and make your pets’ lives better and more comfortable!
The Evolution of Pet Care Through Mobile Apps and How Did It Start?
Back in the day, pet care and pet services were very limited. This is because, for many people, they were completely unaffordable and inaccessible in some other cases. The presence of the Internet and online platforms made things easier, but not to a great extent. platforms were usually limited to pet products and scarcely anything else.
Through the pandemic, people couldn’t access anything, even the hardly accessible services like vet and pet care. This came as a major and serious problem for all pet owners, causing millions of pets’ health to be in danger.
This stressful and unpleasant situation caused many pet owners to start looking for more effective solutions that would be useful in times like this. Luckily, they found the ultimate solution for all problems during the pandemic, which were applications.
Although the pet care and services category wasn’t universal at the time, a small number of apps were available for such a cause. However, after the pandemic, the number in this category increased significantly and is still at an outstanding inclination rate.
There has been a complete turnaround in how pet owners think about their pets’ health and care since the advent of pet apps. The broad use of smartphones as part of our daily lives marks the beginning of this transformation. The demand for effective, user-friendly solutions in pet care arose alongside the widespread adoption of mobile devices and the resulting increase in productivity they enable. The earliest forms of pet apps for mobile devices provided just the most basic features, such as vaccination records, food logs, and reminders for vet visits.
This initial stage saw these apps as basic but valuable tools for streamlining pet care tasks. Sometime later, developers stepped up to meet the growing need for more complex functions by building apps that did more than just monitor health. They had more features that could also measure physical activity levels, provide nutritional counsel, and even help with lost-pet recoveries. This was a monumental change in how people cared for their pets’ welfare and well-being.
The Benefits and challenges of pet apps
Benefits
Health Monitoring
You can keep tabs on your pet’s vaccines, medicines, medical appointments, weight, and physical activity with the help of an app for pets. This is important for your pet’s health and enables immediate and swift medical attention in case of an emergency.
Nutritional Management
Depending on the app, you may be able to get nutrition advice for your pet, including recommendations for foods, serving sizes, and feeding schedules. This would be extremely beneficial to improve your pet’s health, especially senior ones.
Activity Tracking
Many pet applications include activity trackers to help you keep track of your pet’s activities and playtime. They can give you information about your pet’s activity levels, which can encourage you to keep them healthy and engaged.
Lost Pet Features
Some pet apps have features to help find missing pets, such as the ability to create digital profiles with identification information and the ability to share warnings with a network of other pet owners. This can help locate lost pets by tapping into a user-populated database and GPS tools.
Community Engagement
The community of pet owners can be strengthened through the use of these applications because many of them have built-in forums or social aspects. These help users talk to one another about their pets and offer each other advice.
Online Shopping and Services
Many pet care apps now include links to online pet retailers, where owners can quickly and easily stock up on things like food, treats, and medications. Some also offer other services for pets, such as grooming, training, and consultations with veterinarians.
Convenience and Accessibility
In general, these applications simplify the process of caring for pets by assembling a variety of tasks into a single location. These can be accessed at any time using a mobile device, such as a smartphone or tablet.
Challenges
User Adoption and Engagement
It can be difficult to increase the app’s user base and maintain their regular participation. A lack of user-friendliness or interesting features in an app can cause people to stop using it. Therefore, increasing churn and abandonment rates for apps.
Data Accuracy and Updates
It might be difficult to keep track of every piece of information related to pet care, including their vaccination history, veterinary appointments, and more. Data could get outdated and inaccurate if users don’t update and maintain their records or if there are problems with syncing.
Variability in Pet Needs
Every pet has unique requirements, and it would be impossible for any app to meet them all. It’s possible that some users won’t find the application particularly helpful because it doesn’t work with their particular pet’s species or breed.
Reliability on Connectivity
Internet access is required for many aspects of pet apps. Users may encounter difficulties gaining access to or updating information if there are network issues or if the application demands a constant online connection.
Cost of Development and Maintenance
Developing and updating a feature-rich app for pets, as well as providing customer service and keeping the app’s servers up and running, are all costly tasks. These are all major problems, especially for startups and beginner developers. Ads, subscriptions, and in-app purchases are just a few examples of monetization tactics that could be needed to overcome such a challenge.
The Best Pet Care Apps on the Market
1. GoodPup
The first app on our list is GoodPup, which is widely used among all pet owners, especially dogs. Dog owners suffer, especially at the very beginning. This is because dogs and puppies need extensive training to be able to adapt to a new environment. Unlike cats, which easily and quickly adapt to the surrounding environment. GoodPup offers exceptional training services from hundreds of experts that can be accessed through the application. All they need to do is book a training appointment with an expert that they see fits their requirements. They can then have video training sessions and frequent checkups.
2. GreatPetCare
The second app on the list is GreatPetCare. GreatPetCare is an ideal app for pets’ health to keep them on track. This app makes the veterinary experience for pet owners more organized and efficient. But how is that? The app allows pet owners to upload all their pet’s information and vet records that the vet can access at any time or visit. They could also keep records of all the previous diagnoses, medications, vaccinations, and so on. This will reduce the risk of misdiagnosis that frequently happens at vets. Additionally, the app has a reminder feature that would alert pet owners to any upcoming medications and vaccinations.
3. Airvet
Lastly on the list is Airvet. During the great lockdown and pandemic, the whole world stopped, not only for individuals but for pets as well. As there were no vet services available, apps like Airvet were the ultimate solution that helped many pets everywhere. This app offers virtual vet and pet care services. This includes virtual vet visits, pet advice, and many more things that pet owners need regularly. The only difference is that the services are more accessible and cost-efficient.
Top Pet Apps Trends in 2023
Pet Tracking Apps
The first place in the newest app for pet trends goes to pet tracking apps. With the rise of new technologies like wearables and advanced Bluetooth tracking devices, these types of apps emerged. Devices like the Apple Tag make it so easy for a pet owner to always keep an eye on his or her pets wherever they go. By connecting these tracking devices to a pet tracking application, they would have a detailed report of their location and track them anywhere they are. They could also get alerts and reminders whenever they wander off. This helps pet owners keep their pets safe and never experience the grief of losing a pet.
Pet Social Network
Did you know that your pet can now make connections and friends easily? Well, this means that you also get to make friends and connections. Pet social networks help establish a great network of pet owners in the same or nearby communities. As a result, pet owners would be able to discuss similar interests and topics, get advice, plan events, and so on. These apps not only help pet owners to socialize and have access to a helpful community but also for pets to socialize and have fun!
Pet Sitter and Walker Apps
The third app on the list is pet sitters and walkers apps. These apps help ease the burden on pet owners in many cases. For instance, some pet owners wouldn’t have enough time to walk their dogs sometimes, and some would need to be away for some time with no one to watch their pets. Pet sitters and walker apps help connect pet owners to people who are willing to do these tasks. They can choose from a rich list based on location, budget, and many other specifications they can set.
Pet Adoption Apps
Who doesn’t like the idea of having a pet friend that would definitely be a joy in their lives? Well, no one, maybe some villains, but even villains own pets sometimes. I mean, Gargamel has Azrael.
The adoption process for pets is very complex, with many procedures and papers taking place. In addition, people needed to make an enormous effort to find a pet by going from one shelter to another, exerting much effort and spending time. However, the presence and flexibility of the application made this process much easier. Through pet adoption apps, people can see all the available pets at every shelter, or one shelter if it has a specific app. They can then go through the whole process digitally and seamlessly in a matter of minutes.
En Fin
The way that an app can have an impact on our lives is unforeseen, even for our pets. This started with necessities such as pet health and is now covering luxuries such as pet service. Applications are transforming pet care and making it more efficient and accessible, even for people who never had access to pet services before. But luckily, this is long gone now. The app market for pet services is still anticipating a lot of contributions from developers to cover other areas. However, contributions can be made not only for developers now.
Thanks to no-code and low-code development, anyone can be a part of the app market now. Many app builders now, such as the nandbox app builder, are offering users all the necessary tools for creating the best pet apps. And we know that you’d think that this must come with a hefty price tag, but you are wrong. The nandbox app builder, for instance, offers three affordable price plans that anyone can afford. The basic plan starts at $49 and comes with all the features that would make an exceptional app for pets. So, if you are a pet lover with a great vision and idea for a new pet app, then nandbox is definitely the place for you! Try the nandbox app builder now and enjoy a free 15-day trial.
