Pets at Home cut its full-year profit outlook as retail sales fell below expectations over the golden quarter.

The business said it expected underlying pre-tax profit to reach £132m for the year, down from its previous goal of around £136m.

The news comes after soaring pet ownership during the pandemic boosted demand for the retailer’s food products and services.

However, shoppers are now cutting back on discretionary spend on their pets in a turbulent economic environment.

The retailer saw like-for-like sales rise 3.7% during the quarter, which it said was “resilient” against a very strong performance last year, although behind expectations.

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Pets at Home CEO Lyssa McGowan said: “While a slower market over peak meant our sales growth didn’t quite hit the levels we expected, the business remains well positioned to benefit from long term growth in the sector as we continue to win share and grow volumes across food and deliver differentiated performance through our unique vets business.”

Pets at Home plans to launch its new digital platform soon, following the opening of its new distribution centre.

McGowan explained: “Our new digital platform is a key foundation of our growth strategy, bringing vastly improved user experience to our consumers, and creating opportunities to improve cross-sell into accessories and further grow share of wallet.”

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