Why Retail Healthcare is Flourishing
The retail healthcare clinic market, upon which the business model of Any Lab Test Now is based, is flourishing, which is great news for the brand’s 190+ locations across the U.S. today. But what’s driving this phenomenon? And how does the predicted growth of retail healthcare play into the hands of Any Lab Test Now’s franchise development program? At its core, retail healthcare is all about consumers taking more control over their own healthcare preferences and decisions. Which proves that marketing your business model using empowerment as a key value proposition is an effective strategy for Any Lab Test Now owners and consumers alike.
Even before the global pandemic accelerated the need and urgency of rapid lab test results, the retail healthcare marketplace was expanding rapidly. Traditional health care models, which previously relied upon paternalistic doctor-patient relationships, were already losing out to retail healthcare options that promised a more collaborative approach to individual care and choices. Acquisitions and new partnerships that touted this approach—including the rising popularity of telehealth—have awakened consumers to a fresh healthcare shopping experience in which their active participation is not just tolerated but solicited.
What’s currently helping the adoption of retail healthcare to flourish? We’ll illustrate several of the most common examples, but a consumer’s freedom of choice is the centralized theme.
Today’s Healthcare Shoppers
Think about buying a car, a computer, jewelry, or even a new lawnmower. When consumers shop for any major purchase, what are the determining factors that lead to a decision? Let’s start with affordability, which 72% of healthcare consumers claim they consider first. Following the cost factor, healthcare consumers want discretion (privacy), value and, increasingly—convenience. The traditional healthcare model hasn’t exactly done itself any favors. Their complicated plans, internal and external provider networks, referral procedures, and a bloated, outdated, and often inaccurate billing system, have all combined to leave the door wide open for a better way of doing business. As such, today’s healthcare shoppers have become their own entrepreneurial advocates.
Retail Healthcare Options
Telehealth appointments, digitized wearable devices, and retail lab testing are three prime examples of the growing retail healthcare marketplace. Each provides a beneficial, streamlined experience delivered in a collaborative environment. It’s fast becoming a pro-choice retail environment, where consumers are increasingly free to search and shop for the best options for care—especially as it pertains to lower costs, the best value, and—most of all, the highest level of convenience.
This changing marketplace dynamic is quickly becoming fertile ground for the Any Lab Test Now franchise opportunity, among the many independent small businesses well positioned to capture a larger share of retail-based revenue at the expense of major healthcare providers. Any Lab Test Now meets the very definition of retail healthcare, as our focus is squarely on the customer experience. We’re the affordable and discreet option, with up-front pricing, appointments completed in as little as 15 minutes, and results delivered in 24-48 hours. In the American Hospital Association’s (AHA) “Top-10 Emerging Trends in Health Care for 2021”, the second highest ranked item is a phenomenon they refer to as “cooperative competition” or “coopetition”. Taken directly from the report:
“Cooperative competition, or coopetition, is a key trend in health care. While some providers view big-box stores, nationwide pharmaceutical chains and other new entrants as threats, other organizations see opportunity. Their strategy is to leverage the capabilities of these power players to lower the cost of care, increase downstream market capture and focus on core specialty services while remaining highly connected to the patient.”
That’s a business model that sounds very familiar to our Any Lab Test Now franchise owners. Is it any wonder that the retail health care’s $99 million annualized marketplace was originally predicted to triple in the five-year span between 2017 and 2022? If you’d like to be a part of this outlook, reach out to Any Lab Test Now’s franchise development team to get started on your own entrepreneurial journey.
