Is Lloyds Pharmacy’s “Health Village” a game-changer for the 50+ retail market?

This week I found out about a new retail concept being trialled by Lloyds Pharmacy – the Health Village.

Currently being tested at Brent South Retail Park and Lakeside, the Health Village aims to give customers access to pharmacy services alongside an opticians, online doctor and physiotherapists all under one roof.

At Brent South, Lloyds Pharmacy has partnered with opticians (Vision Express), chiropodists (Shuropody), beauty experts (Sk:n), audiologists (Hidden Hearing) and physiotherapists (Connect Physical Health) and in the true spirit of destination shopping there is a coffee shop and accessible toilets. Lloyds Pharmacy‘s own Betterlife Healthcare brand is also there selling a range of “independent living and mobility aids“.

It is not hard to see how the Health Village concept could be expanded to include other services such as life coaching, counselling and psychotherapy. Maybe even other non-health related services such as legal, financial services and travel.

Of course the idea of combining different health services together is not new. It is at the heart and of the NHS and the combination of different services under one roof is like a retail version of the GP-led health clinics (or polyclinics) currently springing up around the country. 

But this is a consumer-focussed retail offering and unlike say, Boots’ health services, is a partnering model with other brands.

Whilst not overtly aimed at older people, the Health Village concept has baby boomer written all over it and in retail terms, particularly with the inclusion of “independent living aids”, could be game-changing for this market.  Far from being hidden in a secondary shopping location,  the “mobility shop” has come centre stage and if the publicity material is anything to go by, the layouts are smart and the products well presented. (The products themselves could do with a design overhaul but that’s another issue).

So, the big question is  – will people proactively manage their health and independence  in this way and is a specialist retail, rather than medical, environment the place to encourage them to do so? What do you think?

For more information about the Health Village visit http://www.healthvillage.co.uk/