Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Retail Clinics More Popular with Higher Income Patients: Report




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/.