Marcus Osborne Explains Walmart’s Healthcare Strategy

Eduardo Munoz/Reuters

• Walmart’s VP of health and wellness transformation said the retailer will be making more aggressive strides into healthcare.
• Marcus Osborne highlighted a few key projects that have been successful, including the self-service health kiosks that it has installed in stores and free health assessments. 
• Osborne said that retailers have to evolve to cater to what consumers need, or risk going bankrupt like Sears.

Walmart is gearing up to play a more active role in healthcare. 

The biggest U.S. retailer has been testing a number of approaches for both its workers and customers, and is preparing to play a more “aggressive” role, Marcus Osborne, Walmart’s vice president of health and wellness transformation, said at the Financial Times Digital Health Summit on Wednesday.

“There’s a need to create a real, true front door for healthcare that hasn’t existed,” said Osborne. “And to put that door where people are and use technology in an appropriate way, that’s what we’re trying to do.”

An increasing number of retailers are rethinking their approaches to healthcare as they grapple with changing shopping habits. CVS Health has touted the benefits of delivering more care in its stores as a big reason for its $69 billion acquisition of insurer Aetna. Walgreens is putting telemedicine kiosks in some locations.

Walmart has been experimenting with healthcare for years, and Osborne highlighted some successes, such as the retailer’s wellness events and the health check-up kiosks the retailer has in thousands of stores. The kiosks have been particularly popular with middle-aged white men who wouldn’t otherwise see a doctor, he said.

The company also has medical clinics in a handful of stores and recently opened a dentist’s office in one. Osborne said the dental office was a hit, and that during dental services, blood pressure and weight can also be checked to give consumers more “bang for your buck.”

“The olden days, they had big palaces of healthcare they built, hoping people show up, or fail,” Osborne said. “Trying to address the need where people are and doing it in a way where you don’t ask them to have to come out of their lives is the challenge.”

Osborne said that in the next 5 to 10 years, retail is going to transform because consumers’ demands are changing. Retailers are also facing a big challenge from Amazon, which is drawing shoppers away from stores by offering convenience and low prices, and is getting into healthcare as well. He said retailers like Walmart are working to adapt to avoid the fate of Sears, which filed for bankruptcy this week.

“We all want to exist in 10 years,” Osborne said. “None of us wants to be Sears.”