Show Off Your Showroom

by Ed Lemar

Boost ADL cash sales with showroom designs that help customers visualize how products can improve their lives.

The increasing size of the senior population means more people with various disabilities and impairments will continue to live relatively active lifestyles. Although activities of daily living products (ADLs) are not "big ticket" items, and do not comprise the majority of inventory dollars, they generate cash sales with good margins. The key for today's HME providers is to embrace the concept of merchandising and selling these items.

First, display products so that patients and caregivers are aware that they are available. Second, educate customers about how the products work. The opportunity is there for providers to ease the lives of people in their communities and add to their profitability.

Every inch of your retail space is valuable. And while your core departments and products must be displayed prominently, with the right design and a little creativity, you can incorporate various ADLs throughout your store without disrupting or taking anything away from your current inventory. Hospital beds, wheelchairs, lift chairs, concentrators and respirators may make up the bulk of your inventory, but making additional cash sales with ADLs can make a big difference in your profit margin. Now that Wal-Mart, QVC, and the chain pharmacies are getting into ADLs, independent HME providers must step up and position themselves as leaders in the industry.

One way to set yourself apart from the bland and inefficient big box stores is to merchandise products in room settings. By doing this, as opposed to just having products stacked on shelves, you familiarize the customer with where the products can be used. Specific products or product categories can be merchandised within these room-like settings.

Once you have products displayed in areas where they would most likely be used, rely on trained salespeople to educate patients or caregivers on how the products work. If patients or caregivers are exposed to products that will make their lives easier, they are usually happy to be informed and won't hesitate to purchase.

For the complete article in HME Today click here.

Ed Lemar is senior vice president of Gladson Design Group, Lisle, Il. He has more than 38 years of experience in home health care and pharmacy design. You can see Ed at Medtrade Spring in Las Vegas at Booth #1664, or attend his seminar Designing and Merchandising a Retail Environment on April 24 from 2:45 pm to 3:45 pm.

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