Chewy sends pet paintings to keep customers from straying

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. It's one of the more than 1,000 free paintings that Chewy sends to select customers each week — even during the pandemic — tapping into people’s obsession with their fur children and, it hopes, winning customers for life. A Chewy representative messaged back: “My paws are crossed that we’ll be able to send you one.” It arrived a month and a half later. But many who get a pet portrait document it for social media, giving Chewy free advertising — a trend the company noticed when it first started shipping them out. Chewy says it rejects artwork that doesn’t look enough like the pet or sends it back to be reworked.