--- title: "Smart Recommender for Pets & Animal Care Verticals" slug: "smart-recommender-for-pets-animal-care-verticals-1" description: "Smart Recommender for pet care helps Insider One customers recommend food, starter kits, and pet-type add-ons, and test which cross-sell raises AOV." updated: 2026-10-20T13:50:33Z published: 2026-10-20T13:50:33Z canonical: "academy.insiderone.com/smart-recommender-for-pets-animal-care-verticals-1" --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://academy.insiderone.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Smart Recommender for Pets & Animal Care Verticals Pets and animal care is a loyalty-driven vertical where pet type, age, health needs, and recurring essentials such as food and litter shape buying behavior. Pet owners shop on a routine and value convenience, trust, and personalization. This article shows how to use Smart Recommender in Insider One to support those routines and help owners discover useful accessories. It includes an A/B test walkthrough for pet food cross-sells and strategies for each page type. > [!NOTE] > **Before you start:** Make sure your product catalog includes the attributes this article filters on, such as Category, Pet Type, Season, and Kit ID. Create missing custom attributes on the **Product Attributes** page and mark them as filterable. ### What you can achieve with Smart Recommender #### Restock reminders Show returning shoppers the consumables they buy often, such as food, litter, or grooming wipes. #### Starter kits for new pet owners Recommend bundles such as "New Puppy Essentials" so new owners get every must-have item. #### Well-timed cross-sells Show chew toys, treats, or supplements on food product pages to grow the basket. #### Re-engagement Show inactive shoppers products that match their pet type and purchase history. #### Checkout add-ons Suggest leashes, dental chews, or flea treatments on the cart page to raise average order value (AOV). #### Pet-type personalization Tailor homepage widgets by pet type, such as "Everything for Your Cat," using browsing and purchase history. #### Affinity-based discovery Use Attribute Affinity to prioritize preferred flavors (salmon, beef), formats (dry or wet), and brands. #### A/B testing Test bundle composition and widget placement to find what drives engagement and repeat orders. ### Walkthrough: Boost AOV with pet food cross-sells Pet care purchases are often part of a routine, such as restocking food or grooming supplies. Recommending related items at the right moment raises AOV. This walkthrough tests two cross-sell strategies on pet food product detail pages: - **Variant A:** Recommend grooming essentials. - **Variant B:** Recommend wellness products. #### Step 1: Create the recommendation strategies Navigate to **Recommendation Strategies** and click **Create**. Configure the first strategy as follows: 1. Select **Product Detail Page** as the page type. 2. Select **Purchased Together** as the algorithm. 3. Enter the number of products to recommend. 4. Exclude products purchased in the last four weeks. 5. Add a filter for the category attribute: Category + is + Grooming Essentials. Create the second strategy with the same settings and change only the category filter: 1. Category + is + Wellness Products. **Note:** Keep every other setting identical between the two strategies. If more than one setting changes, you cannot tell which change caused the difference in results. #### Step 2: Launch the campaign Navigate to **Web Smart Recommender** and click **Create**. 1. Select the integration method for the widget. 2. On the **Segments** step, select customers with a low AOV under **Purchasing Behavior** and set your threshold. 3. On the **Rules** step, use **Page Rules** to target the product detail pages of pet food. 4. On the **Design** step, assign one strategy to each variant and set the traffic allocation for each variant. 5. Click **Edit Design** to open the **Advanced Product Card Designer** and customize your product cards. 6. Select the locales and stores where the campaign appears. 7. Review the campaign details, confirm that every setting matches your goal, and click **Launch**. **Note:** Every attribute you show on a product card must exist in your product catalog. To show more information, create custom attributes on the **Product Attributes** page. #### Step 3: Track campaign metrics 1. Navigate to **Smart Recommender Analytics**. 2. Find your campaign in the **Campaign and Variant Metrics** table. When the test period ends, click the campaign name. 3. Compare Direct Revenue, Average Order Value (AOV), and Conversion Rate for the two variants. This shows whether grooming essentials or wellness products raise AOV more for low-spending customers. 4. If one variant clearly wins, set its traffic allocation to 100% so every visitor sees the better strategy. After you find a winner, test other pairings, such as treats or toys, by changing the category filter. #### Step 4: Optimize your campaigns After the campaign has run long enough to collect data, use **Smart Recommender Analytics** to improve it: - **Engagement funnel:** Review product impressions, click-through rate, add-to-cart rate, and conversion rate to see where shoppers drop off. - **Campaign and variant performance:** Compare AOV, Conversion Rate, and Direct Revenue in the **Campaign and Variant Metrics** table, then refine or scale the winning variant. - **Product-level impact:** Open **Top 100 Product Analytics** to see which recommended products perform best. Give extra visibility to strategic products that perform below expectations. - **Category trends:** Use **Category Analytics** to find the categories that drive the most conversions, and decide whether to prioritize them or promote weaker ones. ### Use cases by page type #### Home page ##### Seasonal picks by pet type Show trending seasonal products for each pet type, such as flea control for dogs in summer. 1. Create a strategy with the **Trending Products** algorithm. 2. Add two filters: Pet Type + is + Dog, and Season + is + Summer. Connect them with an **AND** connector. 3. If you do not have Pet Type and Season attributes, create them on the **Product Attributes** page. **Tip:** A/B test pet-type visual cues (icons, colors) or the widget position. ##### Starter kits for new owners Help new owners get every essential, such as food, bowls, and a bed. 1. Create a strategy with the **Top Sellers** algorithm. 2. Add the filter Category + is + Starter Kits. 3. Target new users on the **Segments** step. **Note:** To recommend the rest of a kit, create a custom attribute called Kit ID on the **Product Attributes** page and give every item in a kit the same value (for example, Puppy Kit 01). **Tip:** A/B test headlines such as "Everything Your New Puppy Needs" and "Find the Right Food for Your Pet." ##### Recently viewed items Remind returning shoppers of products they explored earlier. 1. Create a strategy with the **Recently Viewed** algorithm. 2. Exclude products the user already purchased. 3. Target returning users on the **Segments** step. **Note:** Recently Viewed and User Based rely on each user's past behavior. Target returning users so these widgets always have data to show. **Tip:** A/B test Recently Viewed against User Based. #### Product detail page ##### Frequently bought together Show products other shoppers bought in the same session as the current item, such as food bowls with pet food. 1. Create a strategy with the **Purchased Together** algorithm. 2. Exclude recently purchased products. **Tip:** Try headlines such as "Often Bought Together." ##### Gear for the same pet Show related gear for the same pet type, such as harnesses next to a dog leash. 1. Create a strategy with the **Viewed Together** algorithm. 2. Exclude recently purchased products. 3. Add the filter Pet Type + matches the item they're currently viewing. **Tip:** Try headlines such as "More for Your Dog." #### Category page ##### Seasonal deals by pet type Show the most discounted seasonal products in the current category, such as cat grooming tools in shedding season. 1. Create a strategy with the **Highest Discounted** algorithm. 2. Add the filter Category + contains + the category they're currently viewing. 3. Add the filter Season + is + the current season and connect it with an **AND** connector. 4. If your categories are hierarchical, select the **Expand the category filter to include recommendations from the next category if there aren't enough products to display** checkbox, so the widget still fills when the current category has few products. 5. Turn on the **Enhance recommendations based on Attribute Affinity** toggle. This prioritizes the shopper's pet type. ##### Trending in this category Show what is trending in the category the shopper is browsing, such as dog toys. 1. Create a strategy with the **Trending Products** algorithm. 2. Add the filter Category + contains + the category they're currently viewing. 3. If your categories are hierarchical, select the **Expand the category filter to include recommendations from the next category if there aren't enough products to display** checkbox, so the widget still fills when the current category has few products. 4. Turn on the **Enhance recommendations based on Attribute Affinity** toggle. #### Cart page ##### Finish the kit Suggest practical add-ons for the items in the cart, such as liners and scoops for a litter box. 1. Create a strategy with the **Most Popular** algorithm. 2. Add the filter Category + is one of + Litter Accessories, Bowls, Leashes, Treats. 3. Leave Attribute Affinity off. ##### Reach free shipping Show products that help shoppers reach your free shipping threshold. 1. Create a strategy with the **Checkout Recommendation** algorithm and set the spend threshold (for example, 50 USD). 2. No filters are required. Attribute Affinity is optional. **Tip:** Use copy such as "You are 8 USD away from free shipping." If you do not offer free shipping, use **Purchased Together** instead. ### Related articles - [Algorithm Descriptions](https://academy.insiderone.com/docs/algorithm-descriptions) - [Recommendation Strategies](https://academy.insiderone.com/docs/smart-recommender-recommendation-strategies) - [A/B Test Recommendation Strategies](https://academy.insiderone.com/docs/ab-test-recommendation-strategies) - [Smart Recommender Analytics](https://academy.insiderone.com/docs/smart-recommender-analytics)