SERVICE DESIGN
Small village
A shared platform for a pet sitter to
take care of small and rare species pets
ROLE
User Research
UX|UI Design
CLIENT
Independent
project
DURATION
7 Weeks (2018)
PROJECT GOALS
In Korea, as the number of households raising pets increases, the number of people looking for and raising small animals like hamsters, rabbits, and hedgehogs also increases. However, the service for them is notably insufficient and expensive compared to those who raise popular pets. As a result, they feel more and more grievances in raising rare animals. As a result, it is difficult for people to take care of small animals compared to dogs and cats.
Especially when people need to leave their homes, people have a hard time finding a place to take care of animals. The number of animal hotels in charge of small animals is extremely limited. On top of this, pet owners are worried about leaving their pets to other people because these animals should be cared for based on sufficient knowledge of the animals.
So, the project purposes are
1. Creating a service in which people who raise animals can take care of each other based on their knowledge of the animals.
2. Finding a sitter based on the location-based system.
3. Well-communicated caring system.
BACKGROUND
The small pets market became the ‘blue ocean’ market.
Small animals became popular based on the growth of the pet market. Among the list of services for the pet, hotel services are the third highest.
The rapid growth of
the pet market
Percentage of small animals makes up about 35%
Hoteling services for animals in the 3rd priority sector
$
4.8
billion
$
2.2
billion
$
65
million
2012
2016
2020
59.7%
22.5%
9.3%
8.1%
7.3%
7.0%
Dog
Hamster
Cat
Rabbit
Bird
Hedgehog
76.7%
69.6%
20.9%
Health
Beauty
Hoteling
MARKET SIZE
Currently, 520,000 small pets are raised in Korea. The range of small pets includes rodents, birds, fishes, reptiles, and insects. It also includes both common (e.g. hamsters) and non-common (e.g.sugar glider) species.
Households which have small pets
About 230,000
Small pets currently
being raised
Species which are included in small pets
About 520,000
Parrot, Society finch, Parakeet, Paddybird
Guppy, Goldfish Tropical fish
Turtles, Iguanas, Snakes, Lizards
Beetles, Spider, Stag beetles
INTERVIEW
In a survey of pet care concerns by Seoul research center, lack of facilities and high prices placed second (57.6%) when people have to leave their pets alone. Through the interview, I explored what challenges the user had and what improvements they wanted.
When I take a turtle to my hometown during the holidays, It’s really difficult to bring all the filters and lights. But I can’t find a place to leave him.
I’d like to leave my hedgehog to someone with knowledge of the hedgehog. But, I cannot even find a small pet hotel near my house.
Name : Jessica Cho
Residence : Seoul, Korea
Year : early 30s
Family : 1 person
Pet : turtle
Name : Juyeon Lee
Residence : Daegu, Korea
Year : late 20s
Family : 3 person
Pet : hedgehog
I took a turtle to my hometown on Chuseok, and it was hard to bring all the filters and lights which are necessarily needed to care for the turtle with me. Once I was away from home for five days, I bought 100 raw shrimp to put in a turtle tank before Chuseok. When I have time, I leave it to an acquaintance who keeps a turtle that lives far away.
"Hedgehogs are animals that need a lot of knowledge to raise. Therefore, I cannot leave it to anyone who has no knowledge of hedgehogs. In order to go to a hospital where I can safely leave my pet, I have to drive three hours. The price is also many times higher than the dog's or cat's, so it is difficult to leave my pet easily.
PROBLEMS
Hard to care when the owner leaves the home
Unable to find nearby hoteling services, petsitters for small pets
Lack of reliable place to safely take care of small animals
Price burden of existing small animal care services
EXISTING SERVICE ANALYSIS
There have been considerable releases of services to find pet sitters for dogs and cats. This proves that there are many pet owners who want care-sharing services. However, there is no care-sharing service for small pets. Given the growing market for small animals, care-sharing services for them can be competitive.
CONCEPT
Care sharing system that can take care of each other’s small and rare animals
DogVacay
Petsitting service (USA)
A U.S.-run animal Airbnb service that connects a sitter to take care of dogs instead of the owner. As a revenue model, it receives 15% of the amount the sitter receives as a commission. The service annually earns millions of dollars.
Petfam
Petsitting service (Korea)
Through location-based services, the app for finding connecting pet sitters with pet owners. The application is operating separately for pet owners and sitters. You can check the status of your pet at any time by communicating with the pet sitter by 1:1 easily.
PetStay
Petsitting service (Korea)
It is a service that connects pet sitters and pet owners through the application. Pet owners can select pet sitters based on pet sitting experience, the environment, and location. And user can make a reservation through a messenger.
Ddok-dog house
Hoteling service (Korea)
It is a service that connects pet sitters and pet owners through the application. Pet owners can select pet sitters after searching for their pet sitting experience, environment, and location. And they can make a reservation through a messenger.
Contact through app
Sharing care services, status
Matching service
Matching service
Request for caring
Giving profile (sitter, home)
Pet
Mom
Pet
Sitter
Small Village
TARGET
Care sharing system that can take care of each other’s small and rare animals
Far from pet hotel
A person who has a small pet
(Hamster, Rabbit, Hedgehog, etc.)
A person who has to leave without a pet
/who wants to take care of pet safely
High frequency of
going out /travel
Low frequency of
going out /travel
1st Target
2nd Target
Close to pet hotel
KEY FEATURES
Knowledgeable sitter
Only those who have the same species and have knowledge about them can apply to the service as a pet sitter, so sensitive care for the pets is possible.
Location based matching
By using the Small Village, people can find reliable places and pet sitters close to their neighborhood.
Reasonable price
The service is available at a lower price than the existing hoteling service. In addition, a number of options are provided from various price ranges set by the petsitter.
Easy communication
Users can check the status of an animal at any time through the daily checklist and message function, which are written by Sitter.
SERVICE FLOW
Register as sitter
Prepare for care
Confirm Request
Request Care
Find a sitter
Register as user
Accept/Book care
Care small pets
Share pet’s status
Review pet/mom
Review sitter
Payment
- Introduction of
caring environment
- View review
about mom
(owner)
- Based on location
- Considering review
- Considering
provided service
Pet sitter
Pet mom
SERVICE INTERFACE
Find a pet sitter
Make a reservation
Users can use filters to view the list of sheets according to review, price, distance, etc.
They can also find a nearby sitter based on a map.
Users can see a picture of the place to leave the pet. In addition, it is possible to see options that the sitter offers. After that, users can book the service on a possible schedule.
Contact with a petsitter
Leave a review
Get information from the community
Users can immediately communicate with a pet sitter through a messenger. Also, they can see how the pets are doing through the information that the pet sitter has written on the diary.
Users can leave a review about room condition, care and communication with the pet sitter.
Currently, communities that share information about animals are sporadic. Users can easily find information about small pets which is written by other pet owners through our community.
REVENUE SYSTEM
Fare for a pet sitter is typically from 3% to 5% depending on the refund policy chosen by the sitter. Pet sitting service fees are calculated on the basis of the accommodation subtotals (before fees and taxes) and are automatically deducted from the revenue of the sitter. Fare for a pet mom is calculated based on a variety of factors, including the sum of the accommodation fare, nights of stay, and grade of accommodation. In general, higher subtotals will lower the commission rate.
Matching service
Matching service
Sharing care services, status
Contact through app
Giving profile(Sitter, home)
Request for caring
Pet
Mom
-3% commission on sitting fare
+6-12% commission on sitting fare
Pet
Sitter