When VetShopAustralia launched in November 1999, selling pet care products online was far from the norm.
Founded by brothers Steven and Mark Perissinotto, they started with the simple mission: to “help pet owners care for their pets by supplying them top quality vet-grade products at affordable prices”.
More than two decades on, the brand has become one of Australia’s largest online pet pharmacies and animal health retailers, with 450,000 customers worldwide and a team of 20 staff based in the Sunshine Coast.
VetShopAustralia has been a fixture in the Sunshine Coast community – they were even the major sponsor of the recent VetShopAustralia Surfing Dogs Championship. Now in its 14th year, the event draws thousands to Noosa Main Beach with Louis, an Australian sheepdog, shredding his way to first place in March.
“The Sunshine Coast. It’s our home… the respect for the outdoors, animals, and each other is something that we try and bring to our business,” says Steven. “The Surfing Dog Championship is just a great way to get out, have fun, and give a bit back to the community.”
Trust and personalisation lie at the heart of VetShopAustralia’s ethos. “There’s nothing wrong with a pet shop,” Steven says. “But we don’t sell diamante collars. We don’t sell cat nail polish. We really focus on animal health and wellness.”
Mark’s expertise as a veterinarian has been essential in curating VetShopAustralia’s range of products, all of which are rigorously tested and checked to ensure optimal quality.
VetShopAustralia’s customer service team consists entirely of trained vet nurses and other animal health professionals. As a result, VetShopAustralia are able to provide personalised recommendations for customers based on their pets specific set of needs.
“We’re selling on the internet, but it’s still personal,” Steven adds.
It’s no secret that Australians love their pets. In 2025, Animal Medicines Australia estimated that 73% of Australian households have a pet, with national spending on pet food, wellness, vet visits and accessories totalling approximately $21 billion.
Steven and Mark, both pet owners themselves, understand the importance of making decisions in your pet’s best interests.
“We try to live and run our business by the golden rule, right? Treat people the way you’d like to be treated,” says Steven. “When I’m a customer what do I want? I want good products. I want it to be easy to order, I want it to be easy to solve problems”.
Having entered the world of e-commerce in its infancy, the same year eBay launched in Australia and 18 years before Amazon established a local presence, VetShopAustralia has had a front row seat to the evolving landscape of online shopping.
Keeping up with the precedent of efficiency, fast delivery and immediate customer service set by these major players has been a challenge.
“There’s no doubt that the big boys like Amazon and eBay create expectations in customers’ minds. So then, even though we’re an SME, we have to meet those expectations,” says Steven. “So whether it’s single-click checkout or next-day delivery or multiple payment methods… we have to meet those expectations.”
To keep on top of customer expectations of e-commerce, VetShopAustralia has leveraged the support and payments infrastructure provided by partners like Stripe and Visa.
“In Australia and even overseas in the US, Visa is the most popular payment method amongst our customers,” Steven says. “It’s safe, it’s recognisable, it’s easy to use… we don’t think much about it, and I see that as a good thing.”
For VetShopAustralia, the shift wasn’t about adding more payment options – it was about removing friction. E-commerce solutions from Visa like Click to Pay (one-click checkout) and stronger authentication help streamline purchases while reducing fraud.
Visa works with payment processing partners like Stripe to reduce friction at checkout, improve security measures and drive better conversion. With tools like tokenised credentials, which replaces manual card entry and helps secure payments seamlessly, Visa’s tech gives small businesses the ability to compete like big business online.
In June 2025, VetShopAustralia transitioned to Stripe as their payment processing provider.
For a brand where trust is everything, data security was one of VetShopAustralia’s key concerns when they decided to move to Stripe.
“When we started, the security of making payments online was a really big issue in customers’ minds. You know, who am I giving my credit card to? Where’s it going? Who’s going to look after it,” Steven shares.
He believes that this responsibility has shifted from customers to the forefront of the minds of retailers, who must manage customer data securely.
VetShopAustralia’s in-house developers have worked alongside Stripe’s global 24/7 team to upgrade their payment processes accordingly. Now, the business’ internal teams have noticed a reduction in attempted fraud purchases, crediting Stripe’s robust systems in blocking a higher number of suspicious transactions than previous providers.
In the eyes of Steven and Mark, a successful payment experience is one the customers never have to think about.
“The key is customers shouldn’t really notice your checkout process or your payment processor. They should just not even think about it. It should be easy. Things should just work, and with Stripe, they do,” he said.
When looking to the future, Steven and Mark plan to continue refining the fundamentals that have sustained VetShopAustralia from the beginning: reliability, personalisation and trust.
While embracing innovations and new technology to stay ahead of the curve, they continue to deliver a seamless experience that customers (and their furry friends) will continue to enjoy for years to come.
Visit Visa’s Small Business Hub for more e-commerce resources and tools.
Visa Inc. is a global payments technology company that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions, and governments in more than 200 countries and territories to fast, secure and reliable electronic payments. Visit www.visa.com.au and @VisaNewsAU.
