Lab tests that reveal whether or not your dachshund Buster has ringworm have historically been far removed from consumers. Your vet asks for a stool sample, which you awkwardly procure from Buster and deliver to the office, and the vet orders the test and bills you.

But a startup, MySimplePetLab, is out to change all that. It sells test kits for dogs and cats directly to consumers from its own website, or online through Amazon or Walmart. They retail for $100. After users send in samples (tests for problem ears and skin involve swabbing), the company emails the results to both pet owners and their vets.

Now MySimplePetLab, which began in 2019, is expanding, with care kits that treat ailments rather than diagnose them. Packaged in zippered nylon bags that resemble Dopp kits, they contain multiple products to address a single issue, like irritated ears, itchy skin, or diarrhea. The company said it will launch the care kits, which retail for $40, on Target’s website within 30 days, with plans to stock them at more than 500 Target locations in the fall. The care kits are just for dogs, but the company said it plans to introduce cat kits—not to be confused with Kit Kats—in the future.

The products are rolling out amid a surge in pet ownership and a shortage of veterinarians.

Keep reading here.—AAN

Morning Brew informs, educates, and connects with an engaged audience of 22m+ people monthly. That’s a lottt of viz, especially considering that 92% of ’em engage with Morning Brew on a daily basis, compared to only 15% with other competitive publications.

Wanna tap into our unique community of young, hard-to-reach readers (who, btw, are 1.7x more likely to have a household income of $150k+)?

Morning Brew connects brands to our audience through information and inspiration, using our voice to tell your story in our ever-growing newsletters, booming multimedia content, popular events, and so much more.

Our content is smart, never boring, and easy to access, and our audience trusts us to deliver what they need in a way that feels authentic. Picture your brand woven into all that potential. Sound exciting? We think so too.

Work with us.

We spend more time on TikTok than we’d like to admit, so we’re putting our excessive screen time to use by spotlighting the emerging brands and intriguing trends crossing our FYPs.

Waterboy’s journey to TikTok virality began like many people’s average day ends: pulling up to your house and grabbing the mail. Except before co-founder Mike Xhaxho got out of his car that day in 2021, he decided to film a TikTok (his first ever) introducing consumers to his new beverage brand.

That video led to ~18k presale sign-ups and $65k in sales, and has garnered more than 189k views for the brand, which produces a zero-sugar hydration stick pack centered around “weekend recovery” that’s formulated with vitamins, ginger, and exactly 3,187 mg of electrolytes.

Waterboy was founded by Xhaxho and Connor Saeli (who some might remember from The Bachelor and Bachelor in Paradise) and has bootstrapped its way to $10 million in sales in two years, with its TikTok presence allowing Waterboy to “turn the brand into an influencer,” Saeli said. The brand spent nothing on acquisition costs for the first six to nine months in business, Xhaxho added, and has amassed more than 116k followers on the platform, with four full-time employees.

Keep reading here.—EC

“One of the key use cases Google is testing for [AI-powered tool Search Generative Experience] is shopping, which Senior Director of Product for Consumer Shopping Lilian Rincon described as one of the company’s ‘hero verticals for search,’ with over a billion sessions daily,” Tech Brew’s Maeve Allsup wrote:

SGE is most useful for what Rincon called “complex purchases”—those that may require more consideration, like a bike, for example. In the future, a “more advanced iteration” could help shoppers in apparel, which is one of Google’s most-searched shopping categories, she added.

Read the whole story here on Tech Brew.

Today’s top retail reads.

Chow down: One of the best parts of adulthood is being able to eat whatever you want without pushback from your parents. Millennials and Gen Zers have taken this to heart, substituting products widely considered snacks for full meals. Now it’s a $181 billion industry. (Fortune)

Bottom dollar: Two activist investment firms are urging Dollar General and Dollar Tree shareholders to approve resolutions that would improve working conditions for employees. (CNBC)

Four walls down: If you didn’t realize, Trader Joe’s doesn’t sell online or offer delivery. In its latest podcast episode, the company explains why it sees its brick-and-mortar strategy as the right way to build and maintain its brand (Trader Joe’s)

Mind support: Prescription meds aren’t your only option—Thesis helps thousands of people support cognitive function with natural adaptogens. Reclaim your attention, feel motivated, and meet your full potential with Thesis. Save 15% with code 15BREW.*

Meet the CXperts: How does natural language processing help retailers gain a more comprehensive look at CX, especially in this competitive market? Retail Brew dives into the deets. Sponsored by Square.*

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The numbers you need to know.

We all (maybe) have been ghosted by a potential partner, but new data suggests this happens in the retail world too.

An audit of 588 retailers found that brands disregard 54% of questions and feedback on average from online and social platforms, according to marketing tech firm Soci.

• The report uncovered that 92% of questions posted on retailers’ Google profiles go unanswered.
• The types of questions are also fairly straightforward, such as “Are you open late on Christmas Eve?” or “Do you sell golf equipment?”

The real gut punch for retailers is that ignoring these questions collectively costs them $2.4 billion in sales per year, according to Soci. The analysis found that multi-location retailers are losing $58,000 in sales per location.

“Retailer ‘ghosting’ is an alarming phenomenon with serious implications for brand reputation, customer loyalty, and online visibility,” Monica Ho, CMO of Soci, said in a statement. “When retailers ignore their customers online, they inadvertently send a message that the customer experience isn’t a priority. It’s akin to retail employees ignoring shoppers in-store, and this type of behavior has a significant impact on revenue and sales.”

On the other hand, Soci found that “responsive, visible retailers” almost doubled their YoY revenue and saw 149% more social media engagement.

Catch up on the Retail Brew stories you may have missed.

• Amazon and Mastercard expand biometric checkout tech
• Savage X Fenty exec Christiane Pendarvis on new Hims & Hers gig
• AI automation in manufacturing is about visibility and flexibility