In response to Covid-19, Facebook is allowing pet retailers to make temporary changes to their usual services which can now prominently display on their Facebook page. Whether or not the changes are temporary, we recommend every pet retailer read this article and update their Facebook page settings to prominently show local pet parents that pet food delivery, pickup, or even online ordering is an option.

Once updated, a pet parent who visits the Facebook page of their trusted pet store will be able to quickly see if that store is offering delivery and/or pickup services.

In an announcement, the company states:

“To help businesses respond to the COVID-19 outbreak, we’re enabling businesses to announce temporary service changes on their Facebook Page and in searches on Facebook.

Businesses that have changed how they operate, like fitness studios offering virtual classes or restaurants offering delivery instead of dine-in service, can easily indicate those changes to customers.”

Follow these steps to update your pet store’s Facebook business page:

1. Pet retailers can access this feature by going to Page Settings > Page Info > Hours > Select “Temporary Service Changes”.
2. From there, either indicate that your store is temporarily closed (due to the pandemic) or choose “Open with Service Changes” and select the following options that apply to your business:
   • Online Services (if you offer online ordering, we recommend you select this)
   • Delivery
   • Pickup
   • Other Changes

The “other changes” option should be used to indicate things such as special hours for the elderly, access to gift card purchases, or anything else that has changed in response to COVID-19.

How These Changes Appear on a Pet Retailers Facebook Page

Information about temporary service changes will appear on your Facebook business page, in the Facebook page preview, and in Facebook search results.

Pet parents are most likely to see if you offer online ordering, pick up or delivery services on your page, or in search results under places, events, or any other area of Facebook that shows local business results in a feed.

For example, a pet parent could search for “pet food pickup” or “pet store Eustis Florida” to get a list of businesses near them. Right away you can see whether or not the pet store offers local pickup or delivery.

This is a fast and easy update to make. NextPaw is available if any pet retailers need help with this, and if you haven’t heard of NextPaw before, our technology helps put your store in front of more local pet parents when they are searching for the products and services offered at your store and we also ensure consumers know that you offer online ordering, pick up or delivery across all search engines, your website and voice engines such as Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, and Apple Siri.

If you’d like to learn more, simply request a demo or schedule one by clicking the icon in the lower right of our website.