Report: Expansion of retail-based health clinics to continue through 2019

NEW YORK — Given today’s healthcare landscape, which is riddled with shortcomings, consumers are increasingly turning to retail-based health clinics to fill gaps in care for acute ailments. In fact, total U.S. retail clinic sales are estimated at more than $1 billion for 2014 and sales are expected to continue expanding through 2019, according to Kalorama Information, a division of MarketResearch.com.



Kalorma’s “Retail Clinics 2015” report looks at retail clinics' impact and growth of market over the next five years.



"Strong historic growth has been driven by aggressive expansion, particularly by MinuteClinic, which is now owned by CVS," stated Bruce Carlson, publisher of Kalorama Information. "Growth is expected to continue."



Kalorama's report suggests that because of their location in stores, retail clinics serve a dual purpose of acting as businesses on their own and also bringing traffic to the store, as a customer seeking a healthcare service often makes purchases before or after their visit.



"The advantage of these clinics is that not only are they earning revenue for the companies that own them, but they also can bring customers to the store where they are expected to make more purchases," Carlson stated.  "Our report provides estimates of these indirect sales numbers."



Retail clinics by nature are designed to occupy small spaces and provide just basic care. Therefore, they do not use most of the sophisticated medical equipment found in hospitals or specialty centers such as advanced imaging devices. However, retail clinics are becoming relatively large users of point-of-care tests, clinical chemistry and immunoassay laboratory tests and vaccines. 



While drug stores will continue to represent the majority of all retail clinic locations by 2019, a rising number of clinics will be located at other facilities as the retail health care concept is embraced by a growing number of stores, according to the report.