Retail Focus - Senior Health

Abbie Sherwin, manager of Lifestyle Healthcare in Bath, shares her tips for retailing products in the Senior Health sector

Older people have always been a large part of our customer base, and I think that’s common for health stores. We get a real mix of people coming to us for different reasons. Some have been directed to us by healthcare professionals, with recommendations of supplements, skincare, or remedies. Others come to us for advice because they are frustrated and looking for new solutions. Over the last decade, we have noticed a shift towards wellness; older people are aware of the importance of maintaining good health and using preventative measures. This growing awareness – that we can influence our own health through measures such as healthy diet, physical activity, and supplementation – is one of the biggest changes we have seen.

The benefits of trained staff and good marketing

A lot of our older customers have been coming to our shop for some time, and this is in part due to ensuring the staff effectively cater for our customers’ individual needs. We understand the importance of giving our customers good, evidence-based advice. Effective training is crucial for this; a lot of the brands that we sell offer fantastic training programmes. Pharma Nord are particularly good as they explain and reference the clinical research behind the products. This furthers the staff’s understanding of how the product works, allowing us to make more tailored and accurate recommendations. It’s also great when brands have good materials for in-store and window displays; BetterYou and BioForce to name just two have provided us with effective window displays.