Retail clinics, that is, clinics
located in retail outlets such as drug stores, Targets and Walmarts, are more likely to be visited by high-income patients than low-income patients, according to a new Kalorama Information
report. The healthcare market research publisher has been covering retail
clinics for six years and conducted a survey of US adults to determine retail
clinic use and satisfaction. According to Retail Clinics: Consumer
Attitudes Results of the 2013 Kalorama Survey.
Kalorama
Information's study sought to identify and describe that group of customers.
The firm conducted an online panel of 2,000 U.S. adults 18+ nationwide from Feb
20 to March 9, 2013 querying on a variety of topics related to retail clinics.
The panel was apportioned to match U.S. Census demographics. The survey found
that just 15% of retail clinic users were from a household with an income under $25,000, while most (59%) had
household incomes over $50,000.
Kalorama estimates over 1,300 retail clinics exist in the
US. Growth had been hampered by the recession and urgent care competition but
boosted by drug store chain strategy. A cornerstone of the convenience clinic
business model is low cost services enabled by high throughput and cost
containment; a major factor in keeping costs low is the hiring of lower cost
staffers. But Kalorama Information didn't find that low cost meant the
customers using retail clinics were just those seeking discounts.
Many more observations about retail clinic visitors and
potential clinic visitors are contained in the report, including reasons for
visits, gender breakout of retail clinic visitors, best targets for retail
clinics and demographics of retail clinics users. The report can be found at http://www.kaloramainformation.com/Retail-Clinics-Consumer-7479194/.
