Bigeye's LISTED study, which recorded Amazon's pet aisles on October 12, 2026, found that Amazon itself was the seller on 92% to 98% of the top 50 in dry dog food, wet cat food and cat litter. Chewy advertising is how a pet brand buys media on the other big pet marketplace, where the shopper is already a pet parent and most sales come from repeat Autoship orders. Bigeye, the independent Orlando agency for CPG, pet, beauty, and food and beverage brands, plans Chewy media through its pet marketing agency and retail media teams.

Chewy sells its ads under the name Chewy Ads, and the menu has grown well past sponsored listings. This guide covers what you can buy, what Chewy reports about it, and seven steps for putting a Chewy budget to work.

Key takeaways

• Bigeye found that Amazon itself sold 92% to 98% of the top 50 in three pet staple aisles, so a brand's ad dollars on Amazon often compete with Amazon's own retail listings.

• Bigeye found that 159 of 160 top-20 pet best sellers on Amazon had more than 1,000 ratings, and a new product on Chewy faces the same review wall.

• Chewy reported that Autoship customer sales made up 84.6% of its net sales in the quarter ended August 2, 2026.

• Chewy Ads now covers Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, Sponsored Video, an automated product called Chewy Max, offsite search and social, offsite display, connected TV and new-to-brand measurement.

• Chewy Ads says 1 in 3 onsite ad clicks resulted in a purchase across its 2026 onsite campaigns. That is Chewy's own figure, so test it against a holdout.

What is Chewy advertising?

Chewy advertising is the set of paid placements Chewy sells to brands that sell products on Chewy, under the name Chewy Ads. It includes sponsored listings, brand and video ads on Chewy's site and app, offsite ads on Google, Meta, TikTok, YouTube and connected TV, and measurement built on Chewy's own purchase data.

The numbers to plan around

Why Chewy is a different buy from Amazon

On Amazon, a pet brand often advertises against the retailer itself. Bigeye's LISTED study found Amazon was the seller on 92% to 98% of the top 50 in dry dog food, wet cat food and cat litter, and it recorded Amazon Basics in the flea and tick aisle. Carolyn Lowe, founder and CEO of ROI Swift, put the risk plainly on IN CLEAR FOCUS.

"Amazon can just slap Amazon Basics on it. And that's where you really sort of have to differentiate yourself."

Carolyn Lowe, Founder and CEO, ROI Swift, on IN CLEAR FOCUS

Chewy's shape is different. Every shopper is buying for a pet, and Chewy reported 21.7 million active customers spending $602 each over a year. The bigger difference is the repeat order: Autoship customers drove 84.6% of Chewy's net sales last reported. A Chewy ad that wins a first order can turn into a subscription, so the value of a click sits mostly in the orders that follow it.

Chewy's sponsored ads opened in beta in 2022, and its latest annual report says the offer has since grown into a broader set of advertising products for the brands that sell there. On its June 10, 2026 earnings call, CFO Chris Deppe said gross margin performance "was driven primarily by continued growth in sponsored ads." Chewy is investing in this business, and brands should expect the menu to keep growing.

Step 1: Fix the Chewy product page before you buy clicks

Before spending on Chewy Ads, make sure the product page can convert the traffic: clear images, a title that names the pet, the product and the size, current ratings, Autoship turned on and stock that holds. Ads send shoppers to the page, and a weak page wastes every click you pay for.

Start with the products you'd sell on Autoship, because those are the ones where a first order can repeat for years. Check that the main image reads on a phone, that the size options are right, and that the reviews are recent.

Bigeye's guide to Chewy product page optimization covers the page itself in detail. Do that work first, then come back to the ad plan.

Step 2: Request access and decide who runs the account

Chewy Ads is open to brands that sell products on Chewy. Request access through the Chewy Ads site, then decide whether your team runs campaigns in the self-service tools, an agency runs them, or Chewy's team builds custom placements through Vendor Funded Marketing. The answer changes how fast you can test.

Chewy Ads says onsite advertising uses a cost per click model "with a low barrier to entry," and it lists no minimum spend on its site. It also names software partners, including Pacvue, Skai, Stackline, CommerceIQ and Flywheel, so a brand already running Amazon or Walmart in one of those tools can often add Chewy to the same reporting.

Write down who owns the Chewy account, who approves budgets and who reads the reports each week. Chewy is often the second or third marketplace on a brand's list, and the account drifts when nobody owns it.

Step 3: Start with Sponsored Products on your Autoship items

Put the first Chewy budget into Sponsored Products on the items most likely to repeat: food, litter, treats, supplements and anything else a pet uses up. Chewy Ads describes Sponsored Products as a way to "capture shoppers with high purchase intent," and an Autoship item gives that purchase the best chance to repeat.

Split campaigns by product type and keep your brand name searches apart from category searches, so you can see what each one costs. Category searches find new buyers. Brand searches mostly defend buyers you already have.

Chewy Max is Chewy's automated option, which Chewy Ads says uses machine learning that "continuously works toward your business objectives." It's worth a test once the manual campaigns have a few weeks of data to compare against.

Step 4: Add Sponsored Brands and Video when you have a range

Once two or more products are converting, add Sponsored Brands and Sponsored Video to show the range and the reason to choose you. These formats sell the brand on the category page and in search results, which suits a brand with a story the product title can't carry. A single product rarely needs them.

Keep the creative simple. A pet parent on Chewy is shopping, so the video should show the product in use and the benefit in the first few seconds, with on-screen text for viewers watching without sound.

Send Sponsored Brands traffic to a page that holds the range, not just one item. A shopper who clicks on the brand wants to compare sizes, flavors and formats before choosing.

Step 5: Reach pet parents beyond Chewy with offsite and CTV

Use Chewy's offsite products to reach Chewy shoppers on Google, Meta, TikTok, YouTube, the open web and connected TV, and send them back to your Chewy pages. Offsite is where Chewy's shopper data meets the channels most brands already buy, so it suits launches, seasonal pushes and brands that need new buyers.

Chewy Ads lists Offsite Search and Social on Google shopping ads, Meta and TikTok, Offsite Display and YouTube, and Connected TV. Its site also says 21.5 million pet parents were reached through Chewy Ads. Ask how audiences are built for each offsite buy and how sales are matched back.

Run offsite and onsite in the same weeks. A shopper who sees a video on TV or social and then searches Chewy should find a sponsored listing waiting. Bigeye's retail media strategy guide covers how to split budgets across networks.

Step 6: Measure new-to-brand buyers and lifetime value

Judge Chewy campaigns on new-to-brand buyers, repeat purchases and sales lift against a control group, not on return on ad spend for the first order alone. Chewy Ads offers new-to-brand metrics, incrementality testing and a measurement suite, and those are the numbers that show whether the money brought in buyers you didn't have.

Chewy Ads says campaigns in 2026 averaged $7 or more in lifetime sales for every $1 spent, across onsite and offsite. That's Chewy's own figure, built on its own definitions. Ask for the incrementality test on your brand before you treat it as your result.

Set a lifetime value target by product, using your own Autoship retention. Bigeye's piece on pet brand subscription retention covers the month three drop that hits most subscription programs, which is the number that decides what a first order is worth.

Step 7: Plan Chewy and Amazon as one pet budget

Set the Chewy and Amazon budgets in the same plan, with one price per pack size and a clear job for each marketplace. Amazon reaches more shoppers across more categories. Chewy reaches pet parents only, and most of its sales come back on Autoship. A brand that plans them separately often outbids itself.

Use the same product groups, naming and weekly report for both, so you can compare cost per new buyer side by side. Move budget toward whichever marketplace brings new buyers at the lower cost, product by product, not by habit.

Bigeye's Amazon advertising strategy for pet brands and launching a product on Amazon cover the Amazon side of the same plan.

Chewy Ads formats at a glance

What it looks like in practice

Florida Crystals shows how retail media fits a full plan. Bigeye ran full-funnel media across social, digital and retail media networks, balancing awareness and conversion goals, and the Florida Crystals case study reports triple-digit growth as the brand moved from regional favorite to national contender.

Cat's Pride shows the pet side. Bigeye's work supported national distribution across Walmart, Target and Amazon, covered in the Cat's Pride case study. The same planning, with one budget across retailers and one job for each, is how Bigeye approaches Chewy.

Bigeye's read

Bigeye's view is that most pet brands judge Chewy ads on the wrong order. They hold Chewy to the same first order return they expect on Amazon, cut the budget when it falls short, and miss the Autoship orders that come after.

A pet brand should accept a higher cost per first order on Chewy than on Amazon for products a pet uses up. Chewy reported that Autoship customers drove 84.6% of its net sales, so a first order on a consumable is often the start of a subscription.

But that only holds if the brand measures it. Bigeye would set a cost per new Autoship buyer target for each product, run one holdout test each quarter, and keep the higher bid only where the second and third orders show up in the data.

How Bigeye helps

Bigeye plans and runs Chewy and Amazon media for pet brands as one budget, from the product page and Autoship setup to Sponsored Products, offsite and measurement, through its pet marketing and retail media teams. Bigeye manages campaigns across 50+ retail media networks. Talk to Bigeye about your Chewy advertising plan.

Frequently asked questions

What is Chewy Ads?

Chewy Ads is Chewy's advertising business for brands that sell products on Chewy. It sells Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands and Sponsored Video on Chewy's site and app, an automated option called Chewy Max, offsite ads on Google, Meta, TikTok, YouTube and connected TV, and measurement built on Chewy's purchase data.

Who can advertise on Chewy?

Chewy Ads says it's designed for brands that sell products on Chewy. A brand requests access through the Chewy Ads site, then runs campaigns in the self-service tools, through an agency or software partner, or with Chewy's team on Vendor Funded Marketing. Chewy lists no minimum spend on its site.

How much does Chewy advertising cost?

Chewy Ads says onsite advertising uses a cost per click model with a low barrier to entry, and that investment varies by solution, goals and strategy. Offsite, video and connected TV usually need larger budgets. Set the budget by product, against a target cost per new buyer.

Is Chewy advertising worth it for a pet brand?

For products a pet uses up, often yes. Chewy reported that Autoship customers drove 84.6% of its net sales in the quarter ended August 2, 2026. And unlike Amazon, where Bigeye found Amazon itself sold 92% to 98% of the top 50 in three staple aisles, Chewy shoppers are all buying for pets.

Should a pet brand advertise on Chewy or Amazon first?

It depends on the product. Bigeye's LISTED study found Amazon itself sold most of the top 50 in dry dog food, wet cat food and cat litter, which makes those aisles hard for a new brand. Consumables with loyal buyers often suit Chewy first. Most brands end up running both from one budget.

How do you measure Chewy ads?

Track new-to-brand buyers, repeat purchases and sales lift against a control group, using Chewy's new-to-brand metrics and incrementality tests. Chewy reports lifetime value figures for its campaigns, but those use Chewy's own definitions. Compare cost per new Autoship buyer by product before raising bids.

Start your Chewy advertising plan

Bigeye's pet marketing team plans Chewy, Amazon and retail media for pet brands. If you're setting next year's marketplace budget, start the conversation.

Sources: Bigeye, LISTED (Oct 2026); Chewy Q2 fiscal 2026 results (Sep 2026); Chewy Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 (Mar 2026); Chewy Q1 fiscal 2026 earnings call (Jun 2026); Chewy Ads website (2026); APPA (Mar 2026); Bigeye, IN CLEAR FOCUS podcast with Carolyn Lowe.