Project Overview

What is Careco?

CareCo, created by Petco, is an application that assists both new and experienced pet owners with pet care. The app offers accessible and professional-grade pet care education through technology and gamification, aiming to aid the millions of pet owners in America who struggle with pet care. CareCo's goal is to support pet owners in their pet care journey and ensure their furry companions live happy and healthy lives.

The Challenge

Millions of pet owners in the U.S. struggle with pet care due to a lack of accessible, professional-grade education and guidance. This challenge is exacerbated by the high costs of veterinary care and the overwhelming amount of often inaccurate information available online.

Solution

CareCo, an app developed by Petco, provides pet care education through gamification and technology. It features an AI chatbot for health concerns, an AR simulator for pet setup, and a virtual adoption game for practical learning. These tools aim to make pet care education engaging, accessible, and practical, supporting pet owners in ensuring their pets lead happy, healthy lives.

Sit back, sip some coffee (or tea), & enjoy

Research Findings

Scoping out the Competition

These competitors offer various pet care solutions, including telemedicine, personalized wellness support, and streamlined adoption services. However, they lack comprehensive, gamified educational tools that blend technology and interactive learning for pet care.

Provides prescription delivery and telemedicine services for convenient pet care. Their platform simplifies access to veterinary advice and medication.

Delivers personalized pet wellness support, including custom nutrition plans and behavior training. The service offers tailored advice for managing pet health.

Streamlines pet adoption with a comprehensive search tool that filters by pet characteristics and lifestyle needs. It helps users find and adopt pets that best fit their preferences.

Empathy Interview

We asked pet owners and veterinarians, and we found that owners tend to learn along the way instead of understanding everything prior to adopting. They are also intimidated by the high cost of vet visits and check ups.

When pet owners are faced with a medical emergency, they often turn to the internet for information. However, the information available online can be overwhelming and inaccurate. This can lead to pet owners making poor decisions that could harm their pets.
Veterinarians agree that app-based veterinarian diagnosis is difficult. This is because it is impossible to get a complete picture of a pet's health from a few photos or videos.
Pet owners often view their pets as members of their family, and they take on a great deal of responsibility for their care. This can be especially true when it comes to medical issues.

Key insights

Key insights reveal that focusing on both pre-adoption education and post-adoption support is crucial. Before adoption, prospective pet owners need to understand the full scope of responsibilities and costs. After adoption, ongoing, accessible guidance helps manage medical and behavioral challenges effectively.

Time Commitment

Before adopting a pet, many people underestimate the time and effort required to properly care for a pet. They often focus on the fun aspects of pet ownership, such as playing with the pet and taking cute photos, without fully considering the responsibilities that come with it.

Financial Responsibility

After adopting a pet, many people struggle with the financial and emotional burdens of pet care. They may encounter unexpected medical expenses or behavioral issues that they don't know how to address, leading to stress and frustration. This can result in improper care or even pet abandonment.

Journey Mapping

define

Job to be done

‍When my child ask me to buy her a little bunny for Christmas
‍I want to make sure my kid can takes care of it properly
‍So I can make sure I am not fully taking care of the pet and my child can learn to be responsible

‍When my dog suddenly become inactive and lose appetite
‍I want to identify possible reason of it and know if I need to take it to the vet and see what I can do at home
‍So I can ensure my dog lives the healthiest lifestyle and thrive

ideate

Idea Generation

q.

How might we make preparation and education fun and enjoyable for audiences of all ages?

a.

A virtual pet caring game that incorporates AR technology for users to better understand and experience the process of pet caring

q.

How might we have information according to a pet’s health and their specific needs?

a.

An AI chatbot to give a brief diagnosis of your pet to decide if your pet needs an in person visit or virtual appointment

Design & Development

Low Fidelity Wireframes

feature 01

AI chatbot

The AI diagnosis chatbot is available for current pet owners who are concerned about their pet's health. It can provide a brief diagnosis after the owner uploads a survey, photos, or even videos. The chatbot will guide users on what they can do at home or help them schedule an in-person or virtual vet appointment, depending on the pet's condition.

Get photos scanned

In case of any concern, you can use the camera feature to capture the issue, which will be reviewed by your local veterinarian.

feature 02

Ar Simulator

The augmented reality simulator assists novice pet owners in gauging the appropriate space and arrangement for their pets. They can explore and envision pet supplies to create a conducive environment for their animal companions.

Tooltips

In the AR app, when you click and hold an item used for setting up a pet's home, you will see a pop-up that shows the benefits and need for that item.

Supply list

Based on the setup for your future pet, you will receive a supply list of all the items used in setting up your pet's home through AR.

feature 03

Virtual Adoption Game

Interacting directly with a virtual pet is an excellent way to learn about feeding, cleaning, and grooming. By completing each section, users can earn badges to stay motivated. Upon finishing the games, users will be eligible to adopt animals through the app. This approach allows for practical experience and helps users develop essential skills while also preparing them for pet ownership.

Badges

Earning badges upon completion of exercises can be a great way to motivate and reward users for their efforts.

Progress

By keeping track of your progress, you can see how far you've come and stay motivated to continue.

design system

Pet Owner's Diary

The UI design reflects the user's desire to have pet care education in a digestable and accessible way. With friendly 3D models and warm colors this will hopefully engage families to learn about their soon to be new pet together.

Next steps

Realistic Pet Care Schedule

In the next steps, we would like to incorporate behavioral pet patterns into the gamification process. This means that users will have to follow a realistic schedule for their pet's daily activities such as feeding, walking, and grooming. For example, the app may require users to feed their virtual pet at 6am, take them for a walk at 6am, and play with them for 30 minutes at 8pm. By making the experience more realistic, users will be better prepared for the actual responsibilities of owning a pet. The app can also use push notifications to remind users of their pet's needs and to encourage them to stay on schedule. Overall, this will help pet owners develop good habits and ensure their furry friends receive the care they need.

Careco

Role

Tools

Timeline

Team