Supermarkets are the new health care destinations

By: Cathy Polley, RPh, Vice President, Health & Wellness, FMI & Executive Director, FMI Foundation

Early in my career, I had the privilege of being a registered pharmacist for Kmart. Back then, we filled prescriptions, helped customers with medication related questions and hosted occasional health screenings. Today’s pharmacists do so much more. For example, the 2014 Retail Contributions to Health and Wellnes report finds that 90 percent of supermarket pharmacies offer flu shots among many other immunizations and health screenings. Pharmacists, along with dietitians, are now at the center of making supermarkets go-to health care destinations for shoppers.

Grocery stores today are hiring more and more health professionals and developing in-store health centers to meet the growing demand from shoppers for “retail healthcare.” Ninety-five percent of stores surveyed employ dietitians at the corporate, regional and store levels. Seventy percent of respondents have in-store clinics in some or all stores, an increase from 40% only a year ago.

Most importantly, retailers are partnering with health professionals in the community. Of the food retailers we surveyed, 95 percent report working with local hospitals or health care networks. More than half of food retailers surveyed work with health insurance providers and local gyms and nearly one-third work with culinary schools.

The growing number of food retail health professionals and facilities, along with the ability of supermarkets to partner closely with local health organizations, make for a dynamic opportunity for food retailers to offer their customers food, health and wellness – all in one store. 

To hear more about the findings from the 2014 Retail Contributions to Health and Wellness, join at for the FMI Connect Health and Wellness track session Wellness in the Aisles: The Role of the Supermarket in the Changing Healthcare Landscape.