From OTC aisles to fresh fruit: Spreading the health message across the store

Walmart means health and wellness. Increasingly, that’s the message that Wal-Mart Stores is working to convey to the 140 million Americans who walk through its store aisles each week. While the company will continue to serve as the nation’s primary stop for candy, soda, electronics, paper products, gardening supplies and a host of other everyday items, its merchants are elevating the role of over-the-counter medicines, diagnostic and fitness products and other health-related items.

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Marcus Osborne, VP of health-and-wellness payer relations for Walmart U.S., told former U.S. Senate majority leader and physician Bill Frist last February that nonprescription medicines and other over-the-counter products comprise one of the four pillars of Walmart’s strategy for engaging with its customers more effectively as a primary source for health-and-wellness products and services, along with the pharmacy, the vision and hearing clinics, and the new Walmart Care Clinic program.



In part, the elevation and realignment of OTCs and related-health items are about coordinating “departments like baby care and other offerings that holistically mean health and wellness to the customer,” said Paul Beahm, SVP health-and-wellness operations for Walmart U.S. It’s also about using those products to build an overall image of a healthier and more cohesive product offering. By aligning the sales goals and marketing efforts of different store departments more effectively, Walmart’s managers are using those products to boost cross-departmental sales throughout the store — and to steer more shoppers to the pharmacy, vision center and OTC aisles.



Given the aging population, Walmart is also focusing more aggressively on durable medical equipment and home health care, said Labeed Diab, president of health-and-wellness for Walmart U.S. “It’s a one-stop shop,” he noted.



‘The No. 1 share in OTC’



The expanding selection of health-related products like OTC medicines, mobility equipment, diabetic supplies, wearable monitors and active-lifestyle fitness gear fits perfectly with the company’s goal “to be our customers’ destination for everything they need to manage their health.”



That means that “in addition to over-the-counter medicines, prescriptions, blood pressure monitors and advice on health insurance, we have the majority of products customers actually need to live a healthy life, such as fresh produce, apparel, exercise equipment and wearable technology,” the company reports.



What’s more, “we have the No. 1 share in OTC, at a great low price,” Diab said.



It bears repeating that Walmart’s approach in its OTC aisles mirrors that of the rest of the store: to deliver on value and selection. “Our strategy is to lead on price, invest to differentiate on access, be competitive on assortment and deliver a great experience,” the company reported recently. “By leading on price, we earn the trust of our customers every day by providing a broad assortment of quality merchandise and services at everyday low prices. Price leadership is core to who we are,” Walmart adds.



In its 2015 annual shareholders’ report, the company calls itself “an agent for our customer, driving value through improving quality and expanding key brands, at an everyday low price.”



“Additionally, by leveraging our unified physical and digital capabilities, customers have access to approximately 8 million items across our entire product offering, with more to come this year,” the company noted.



‘An opportunity for us’



Sales of over-the-counter medicines and other nonprescription health products were up a respectable 2% last year, according to company reports, and the OTC category still offers plenty of growth potential, Beahm said. “When an item goes from prescription to OTC [status], it’s an opportunity for us to significantly grow our share,” he said. “So the way you really take advantage of that is not just in pharmacy, but by collaborating with the [rest of the] leadership team and making [an Rx-to-OTC product like] Flonase come alive not just in health and wellness, but come alive wherever it’s important to the shopper — such as grocery or lawn and garden.”