From a single online pet store to a growing multichannel retail business, PETZOO has transformed the way it sells and operates with Neto by Maropost. By connecting its online and physical stores, streamlining fulfilment and expanding into new marketplaces, PETZOO achieved 500% online revenue growth over 3.5 years, while improving productivity across its five-person team.
About PETZOO
Founded in 2004, PETZOO is an Australian pet supplies retailer offering more than 5,000 products to customers across the country.
Founder Jon Wakefield recognised the potential of ecommerce early on, initially encouraging his parents to take their physical pet store online. When they decided against expanding into ecommerce, he launched PETZOO himself, eventually growing the business to take over his parents' store.
As PETZOO expanded across online and physical retail, Jon needed a technology platform that could support the business's growing operations without adding unnecessary complexity.
Connecting Online and In-Store Operations
Challenge
Before moving to Neto by Maropost, PETZOO operated its online store on BigCommerce alongside a separate point-of-sale system for its physical location.
The two systems were not integrated, creating challenges with inventory visibility, order management and customer information.
Without a centralised view of stock, employees had to manually manage inventory across both operations. Disconnected customer data also made it difficult to understand purchasing behaviour across channels and deliver more personalised experiences.
As order volumes increased, these manual processes became increasingly time-consuming, limiting staff productivity and making it harder for the business to scale.
Solution
Jon began searching for an ecommerce platform that could connect PETZOO's online store with its existing POS system, while supporting the shipping carriers and marketplaces relevant to Australian retailers.
Neto by Maropost stood out for its open API, flexible integrations and ability to bring ecommerce and retail operations together.
The platform enabled PETZOO to streamline inventory and order management while connecting the software already used across the business.
Its Australian shipping integrations were particularly valuable, helping the team simplify fulfilment and reduce the time spent processing orders.
“Neto has saved us hours every day with being able to streamline the shipping process. It is also easy to train staff to use, which is one of those things that can make life a lot easier when bringing someone new onboard.”
Jon Wakefield, Founder
PETZOO
Result
With more connected systems and streamlined workflows, PETZOO was able to manage substantially higher order volumes without a corresponding increase in operational complexity.
Jon credits Neto by Maropost with giving PETZOO the ability to process significantly higher order volumes, estimating that the business could handle ten times the volume of its previous setup.
The improvements also made it easier to onboard new employees, allowing the team to spend less time on manual administration and more time supporting customers and growing the business.
Expanding into New Marketplaces
Challenge
As PETZOO grew, Jon recognised that relying on a single ecommerce website would limit the business's ability to reach new customers.
With more than 5,000 products available, he wanted to make PETZOO's catalogue accessible across multiple shopping destinations.
However, managing individual marketplaces separately would introduce additional work for an already busy team.
Solution
Neto by Maropost provided PETZOO with an omnichannel commerce platform that made it easier to connect with Australian marketplaces and manage sales across multiple channels.
Petzoo expanded its presence to eBay, Kogan and Amazon.
Rather than building separate processes for every new marketplace, the business could use Neto by Maropost's integrations to support its multichannel strategy.
“We sell everywhere because everyone has pets. Once you have one sales channel set up, it is easy to integrate others, so why not sell everywhere you can.” — Jon Wakefield, Founder, PETZOO
Result
Marketplace integrations gave PETZOO greater flexibility to expand its reach and experiment with new sales channels.
For Jon, the platform's focus on Australian ecommerce was an important advantage, particularly when it came to accessing locally relevant integrations.
“The ability to list on multiple sales channels has been huge. Because Neto is Australian and it is focused on the Australian market, everything that is relevant to your ecommerce business here is set up with Neto.” — Jon Wakefield, Founder, PETZOO
Growing Revenue by 500% While Improving Productivity
Challenge
As PETZOO's online business expanded, Jon needed to ensure that increasing sales would not lead to equally significant increases in staffing requirements and operating costs.
The business needed ecommerce software that could support greater transaction volumes while keeping everyday processes manageable for a small team.
Solution
By consolidating its operations through Neto by Maropost, PETZOO reduced the manual work involved in managing inventory, processing orders and coordinating shipping.
Simpler workflows and easier staff training also helped the business operate more efficiently as sales increased.
Result
Over 3.5 years using Neto by Maropost, PETZOO increased online revenue by 500%.
Importantly, that growth was accompanied by improvements in operational efficiency.
With a team of just five employees, PETZOO reported revenue per staff member approximately 50% higher than the industry standard.
“We currently have a team of 5. When we look at revenue per staff member, we are about 50% more productive than the industry standard.” — Jon Wakefield, Founder, PETZOO
For Jon, these improvements were among the most valuable outcomes of adopting Neto by Maropost. Beyond increasing sales, the platform helped create a more productive and manageable working environment for the team.
More Than Technology: A Partner for Growth
Beyond the operational benefits, Jon valued the relationship with Neto by Maropost and the community of Australian retailers using the platform.
The opportunity to exchange ideas with other merchants and explore new ways to improve the business became an important part of PETZOO's experience.
“Neto is a partner who you can tell wants to make the best ecommerce platform possible. Also, Neto has a great community of sellers from different industries that you can bounce off. Either online or at the events, it is always great to see what other businesses are working on and sharing a common ground.” — Jon Wakefield, Founder, PETZOO
Looking Ahead
With a more scalable foundation in place, PETZOO's ambitions extended beyond its existing online and physical stores.
At the time of the original story, Jon was exploring additional marketplace opportunities and the potential acquisition of more physical retail locations.
For him, one of the greatest advantages of Neto by Maropost was the ability to continually discover new ways to improve the business.
“There is always something new you can be doing with Neto. I feel like we are using a lot of features that Neto has but there are hundreds of features/add-ons we aren’t using. Having the ability to make your business better every day is important.” — Jon Wakefield, Founder, PETZOO
