Customer Reviews (100)

Tonya Hutchison • 2025-09-03T11:23:47.624Z

issues ordering

R R • 2025-09-02T19:22:47.175Z

It took me a few times to navigate the site. The more you use it the easier it becomes

Scott Kress • 2025-09-01T16:44:34.434Z

slow to respond on commands on app.

Summary of Key Insights

The Petco app receives mixed reviews, with a nearly equal distribution of 1-star and 5-star ratings. While some users praise its ease of use, convenience, and helpful features like online ordering and store pickup, a significant portion report frequent issues with performance, login problems, bugs, and a generally frustrating user experience. The app's reliability is a major concern, overshadowing its potential benefits. The overall sentiment is polarized, with a strong divide between users who find the app helpful and those who consider it unusable. The overall rating, based on the provided score distribution, is approximately 2.8 out of 5. This suggests that the negative experiences are significantly impacting the overall perception of the app.

  • Strengths: Convenient online ordering and pickup, rewards program, and price matching.
  • Weaknesses: Frequent bugs, slow performance, login issues, unreliable rewards, poor search functionality, and frustrating user experience.
  • Overall Sentiment: Mixed, with a significant number of negative experiences related to app functionality.

Data & Methodology Overview

  • Data Sample Size: 100 reviews
  • Time Frame: The reviews appear to span from 2021 to 2025, suggesting a relatively long-term assessment of the app.
  • Analysis Methods: Sentiment analysis was used to determine the overall tone of the reviews. Keyword extraction was used to identify frequently mentioned issues and features. The star ratings were used to create a score distribution and calculate an approximate average rating.

Key User Pain Points

  • Performance Issues (Slowness, Lag, Crashing): This is the most frequently mentioned issue. Users consistently complain about the app being slow, laggy, and prone to crashing, making it difficult to use.
  • Login Problems: Many users report being repeatedly signed out, having to reset passwords frequently, and being unable to log in at all.
  • Bugs and Errors: Users encounter various bugs, including issues with rewards not loading, orders not processing, and features not working as expected.
  • Rewards Program Issues: Difficulties redeeming rewards, Vital Care points not loading, and general frustration with the rewards system are common complaints.
  • Unreliable Functionality: Features like "see all" buttons not working, location services malfunctioning, and checkout processes failing are frequently mentioned.
  • Forced Updates: Some users dislike the forced updates, especially when they introduce new bugs or intrusive permissions.
  • Payment Issues: Problems with PayPal integration and concerns about card security are also noted.
  • Customer Service: Lack of response from customer service is a recurring theme.

Frequently Requested Features

Based on the provided reviews, there aren't explicitly requested new features, but rather requests for improved functionality and stability of existing features. Implicitly, users want:

  • Reliable Login: A "remember me" function and a stable login process.
  • Stable Rewards System: A functional and easy-to-use rewards program.
  • Improved Performance: Faster loading times and fewer crashes.

Strengths and Positive Aspects

  • Convenient Online Ordering and Pickup: Many users appreciate the ability to order online and pick up items in-store.
  • Price Matching: Some users like that Petco offers price matching.
  • Wide Selection of Products: Some users appreciate the availability of specific products that they can't find elsewhere.
  • Repeat Delivery: Users like the repeat delivery option and discounts.
  • Friendly Staff: Some users mention positive experiences with staff in physical stores.

Prioritized Action Recommendations

High Priority:

  • Address Performance Issues: Investigate and fix the causes of slowness, lag, and crashing. This is the most critical issue affecting the user experience.
  • Resolve Login Problems: Fix the login process to prevent users from being repeatedly signed out and improve password reset functionality.
  • Fix Bugs and Errors: Prioritize fixing the most common bugs and errors, especially those related to rewards, ordering, and payment.
  • Improve Rewards Program Functionality: Make the rewards program more reliable and easier to use.

Medium Priority:

  • Optimize Search Functionality: Improve the accuracy and relevance of search results.
  • Enhance Customer Service Responsiveness: Improve customer service response times and provide better support for app-related issues.
  • Re-evaluate Forced Updates: Consider allowing users more control over updates, or at least ensure that updates are thoroughly tested to avoid introducing new bugs.
  • Improve Payment Integration: Ensure seamless integration with payment methods like PayPal.

Low Priority:

  • UI/UX Improvements: While decent, some users find the app confusing. Consider usability testing to identify areas for improvement.

Opportunities for Startup Ideas

  • Pet App Performance Monitoring Service: A service that monitors the performance of pet-related apps and provides developers with insights into common issues and areas for improvement. This could address the recurring performance problems experienced by Petco and other pet-related apps.
  • Loyalty Program Aggregator for Pet Stores: An app that consolidates loyalty programs from multiple pet stores, making it easier for users to track and redeem rewards. This could address the fragmentation and complexity of current loyalty programs.
  • AI-Powered Pet Product Recommendation Engine: An engine that analyzes user data and pet characteristics to provide personalized product recommendations, improving the shopping experience and driving sales.

Trends and Observations

  • Long-Standing Issues: Many of the issues reported in the reviews have persisted for several years (e.g., the app being "down for maintenance" for months). This suggests that the development team may be struggling to address these problems effectively.
  • Polarized Sentiment: The bimodal distribution of ratings (high number of 1-star and 5-star reviews) indicates a strong divide in user experiences.
  • Impact of Updates: Some updates seem to introduce new bugs or worsen existing problems, leading to user frustration.

Conclusion

The Petco app has significant potential, but its current state is marred by performance issues, bugs, and a generally unreliable user experience. Addressing these issues should be the top priority. Improving the app's stability and usability will be crucial for retaining existing customers and attracting new ones. A focus on quality assurance and thorough testing before releasing updates is essential. Overall, a major overhaul of the app's technical infrastructure and a renewed focus on user experience are needed to unlock its full potential.

Original App Link

https://play.google.com/work/apps/details?id=com.petco.mobile