Petco is opening a cashierless pet store that offers free veterinary care for a $9 monthly fee

• Petco has launched a new store called PetCoach that's like a cross between Amazon Go, a veterinary hospital, and a grooming salon.
• Shoppers can pay $9 a month to access PetCoach services at a discounted price.
• Membership perks include free veterinary visits at the on-site animal hospital and usage of the self-wash stations, which typically cost $14 per wash, for just $2.
• PetCoach also offers nutrition consultations, day care, mobile vet house calls, and dog walking.

Petco has launched a new kind of pet store that offers a suite of services, such as grooming, training, and veterinary care, at deep discounts for a monthly fee.

The store, called PetCoach, is like a cross between Amazon Go, Amazon's cashierless convenience stores, a veterinary hospital, and a grooming salon.

Shoppers can pay $9 a month to access the PetCoach services at a discounted price.

Membership perks include free veterinary visits at the on-site animal hospital and usage of the self-wash stations, which typically cost $14 per wash, for just $2.

"We wanted to create more of an experiential environment" for pet owners, Brock Weatherup, Petco's executive vice president of strategic innovation and digital experience, told Business Insider.

"Roughly half of pet spending happens around products, and the other half is around services like grooming, training, washing, walking, and boarding."

The first PetCoach location opened in San Marcos, California, last week.

In addition to grooming, training, and veterinary care, the store offers nutrition consultations, day care, mobile vet house calls, and dog walking.

The concept is closely tied to Petco's mobile app and website, also called PetCoach, which gives users virtual access to veterinarians.

The PetCoach store also offers a small selection of pet products found in Petco stores.

But unlike regular Petco stores, the PetCoach concept has no registers or dedicated cashiers.

Instead, it features roaming "pet coaches" who assist shoppers by scheduling appointments or checking them out using iPad minis.

Petco plans to use PetCoach as a "learning lab" for future PetCoach stores, Weatherup said.

The company also plans to integrate aspects of the concept into its 1,500 Petco stores across the United States, he said.

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