Despite COVID-19, U.S. Spending on Animals – Especially for Dental Procedures – Races Forward
Santa Clara, August 18, 2020: Sikka Software, a market leader in advancing retail healthcare connectivity, applications and insights, today announced the results of a months-long study into the veterinary industry about animal health during the COVID-19 crisis. Despite the devastating economic impact created by the pandemic across industries in the U.S., pet parents are investing in the health of their pets at a record pace.
“We adopted two kittens since we’re at home so much due to COVID,” said Sunil Saha, co-founder and CEO at Perkville. “Our six-year-old and four-year-old children have fallen for these animals, which have quickly become a part of the family. Visits to the vet are now as important as visits to the dentist.”
Do People in the West Care More About Their Pets Than Folks in the East and in Austin?
But Sikka Insights over the last 3 months has identified a geographic disparity in spending on animal oral health and other hygiene-related services.
The company discovered that pet parents in the Western states – particularly those in Phoenix, San Antonio and San Diego – lead the country in the dollars they dedicate to pet bathing, grooming and oral health care. They spend at a significantly higher rate for these services than do pet parents in Chicago, Indianapolis and New York.
Meanwhile, Austin, Texas, lags the rest of the country in pet dental care.
Understanding KPIs Enable Vets, Suppliers to Optimize Management, Fetch Opportunities
Sikka Insights empowers informed decisions through data insights on scheduling, production, treatment plans, procedures and other key performance indicators (KPIs) for veterinary practices. By analyzing the activity of more than 1,000 opted-in veterinary practices across the U.S. during the COVID-19 crisis, Sikka has been able to draw some remarkable conclusions. These insights not only help veterinary practices to manage their business more effectively, they also allow the major suppliers in the industry to anticipate and meet the needs of their customers, the veterinary practices. Sikka Marketplace, working with Midmark Animal Health, has also introduced Dentistry Tracking Reports for veterinary dental care.
“Having access to timely data at a micro and macro level is essential for us to help practices enhance patient care and maximize return on investment,” said Andrew Schultz, Jr., director of business development and clinical services at Midmark Animal Health. “Partnering with Sikka is enabling the animal health practices we support to gain a better understanding of their key performance indicators, particularly in this unprecedented economic environment.”
An example of the value and timeliness of this data is available on the SIKKA Covid-19 Rebound website. Various retail healthcare segments, including animal health, are displayed in heat maps, quantifying the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on U.S. practice production and pet visits, and how practices across the 50 states are managing through the crisis.
About Sikka Software
Sikka Software is helping to rethink the retail healthcare market using a single API cloud platform with artificial intelligence and predictive analytics. Focusing on non-physician practices in dentistry, audiology, veterinary, optometry, chiropractic, orthodontic and oral surgery, Sikka Software now has more than 34,000 practice installations on its platform. These are businesses for which the primary skilled workers are also the owners who need tools to digitize their practices and help them make more real-time, optimized decisions. Sikka Software API and cloud platform connect to more than 90% of the retail healthcare market including practice management systems and financial software.