Page 18 - HME Busines, Nov/Dec 2018

Showcasing DME’s Retail Superstars
“Customers look to us for guidance. They heavily look to us as being the experts, and they expect us to be able to answer questions and be able to advise them based on their situation what the best product is going to be to provide the best solutions.”
— Wayne Slavitt, Mobül
managers have been trained to measure customers for compression. Measuring customers prior to purchase cuts down on later returns. Having knowledgeable staff on hand is ideal, but it’s not realistic
for a staff member to be available every time. In place of a staff person, “Adding signage with medical education to a display helps reinforce the products’ benefits, differentiate them from other prod- ucts and justify their price points,” Summers explains.
Compression doesn’t stop with socks and hosiery; it also includes special donning and doffing devices that help customers, particu- larly seniors, put on and remove heavy hosiery, socks and sleeves. Customers might not know that these helpful accessories exist, so pharmacies should stock them close to the core product with staff available to demonstrate how to use them.
Bath Safety
Bath safety is another product category that is not funded, despite the critical role that bath safety products play in keeping seniors, among others, safe and independent. There are a number of bath safety products that pharmacies can offer their customers, such as chairs and benches, toilet seats and rails, grab bars and tub rails.
Dave Stewart, an independent rehab product specialist working with Healthline Medical Equipment Inc., notes that online sales of bath safety products has been increasing. So, it’s important for phar- macies to provide a service and experience in-store that customers cannot get online, which means having as many products as possible available for customers to touch and try out.
If the pharmacy has enough room, Stewart suggests having a non-working toilet and bathtub. “The toilet would be used to display raised toilet seats and safety frames and to demonstrate commodes that are used over the toilet. The bathtub can be used to demon- strate transfer benches, bath seats, bath lifts, tub grab bars and the wall,” he explains.
For a customer to justify purchasing in-store and not online, they need to be able to take their products home from the store with them. “Having stock is probably the most important thing,” Stewart says. “If they have to wait for a product to be brought in they might as well
buy it online themselves and have it shipped to their door.”
This also means that pharmacies should seek out suppliers that will
defend brick-and-mortar stores’ use of minimum advertised price (MAP), which is the lowest price a retailer can advertise a product for sale. For Anderson, MAP pricing is essential to helping Oswald’s Pharmacy maintain a competitive edge with online stores.
“When our more tech-savvy shoppers are on Amazon on their phone while shopping our aisles, we’re the same price,” he notes.
Orthotics and Footwear
Orthotics and orthopedic devices cover a wide range of products, such as footwear, splints and braces, and posture support. Though some orthopedic and orthotic products are reimbursable through Medicare or other private insurance, customers aren’t always able
to get the items they want or items that individually suit them. Customers also don’t want to wait for reimbursement before they can have access to the products that they need. Pharmacies are yet again in a position to fill a customer need while increasing cash sales.
Athletes are a large consumer base for orthotic products, like knee braces and wrist splints. Brandon Noble, director of medical sales and marketing for Vionic Group LLC, recommends rotating out orthotic displays by the check-out for injuries and aches related to specific sports seasons.
Shin splint, for example, is a common injury for runners and soccer players. “During the ‘prime’ season specific injury like shin splint, put a set-up of bracing for that particular injury around your check-out area,” he suggests.
These types of products come in different sizes, and arranging the display by size helps customers find the size they need more easily. Having staff on hand to guide customers through their purchase will ensure that they are fitted properly.
Noble also suggests video, which serves as a good selling tool
but also an educational resource for customers. Pharmacies that sell orthotics should ask their suppliers if they provide any sort of video to
Rx 8 December 2018 | DME Pharmacy
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Dollars Per Square Foot
One of the main challenges that HME pharmacies face when imple- menting engaging floor displays is limited space. Here are some tips for smaller pharmacies who are interested in increasing their cash sales.
Incremental Products
VGM’s director of retail programs Rob Baumhover suggests selling incremental products, which are add-on cash items that supplement the main product. “To start adding incremental products to your product mix, think of your top performing products or product catego- ries. Now think of two or three cash products that complement those products.”
A CPAP customer, for example, might also be interested in a CPAP pillow, cleaning wipes or hose covers. “It may take practice or addi- tional training for customer service employees to learn how to sell incremental products, but by asking the right kind of questions, any employee can easily incremental sell.”
Utilizing Floor Space
Wayne Slavitt of Retail DME provider Mobül encourages pharma- cies to “allocate space to the items that generate profit.” Instead of allocating shelf space to a 50-cent item, replace it with a HME item that generates more profit.
“I work with other HME retailers to help them grow their businesses, and my advice to them is very simple: if they can somehow reallocate the space in their pharmacy, I would recommend putting more product on the floor.”