Fluctuations in the birth figures are inevitable, and really, your position within the market depends of the quality of the service you provide. The baby market is one which will always exist, but consumer trends and behaviours will continue to evolve.
Written by Sheena Mitchell, Pharmacist, Milltown totalhealth Pharmacy
Consumers will buy some low value items online, and from supermarkets, that is inevitable due to convenience. The core focus of our profession should be on what we can do to set ourselves apart, what value do we deliver that is greater than the draw of a slightly lower price. We are uniquely placed as both healthcare professionals and retailers, and we must remain focused on what drives our customers in the doors of our stores. First though, there are some interesting trends in birth rates to consider!
The baby market remains dynamic with a sudden raise in the number of births in quarter 3 and quarter 4 of 2021.
The CSO figures make an interesting read:
The raise in birth rates corresponds to pregnancies which would have begun in the period of October 2020 to March 2021. During this time in Ireland lockdown restrictions were in place and it has been suggested by many sources that this led to family expansion conversations happening when they may otherwise have been delayed. People were at home and plans for future holidays, new job roles, or mortgages were not as relevant. Obviously, we can only hypothesise about the reasons for the increase in birth rates during Q3 and Q4 of 2021 and it is hard to draw any conclusion over what trends may or may not continue. Whilst the birth rates increased to for the first time since 2009 (an era well known for recession), they still remain significantly lower (21.7%) than in 2011 when 74650 births were recorded.
On a more global scale, birth rates continue to decline in China and America. The birth rates in these countries are anticipated to continue to decline. Birth rate is affected by many factors with economic and social aspects remaining a priority. If families are struggling financially due to increases in interest rates, high mortgage and rental prices, and high childcare costs it can be difficult to consider expanding your family.
The baby market will continue to exist whilst the birth rates may fluctuate. The important role of Pharmacists is to ensure that we are delivering a high standard of affordable care to our patients. Never more have our patients relied on us as their first port of call in their healthcare journey, with many parents unable to access GP’s due to high waiting times and high prices. Similar can be said with hospital access. Long waiting times and the threat of spending prolonged periods of time in an environment which may increase the chances of your baby catching an infection are not appealing.
We need to ask ourselves what our customers want from us, and also what we want from them. Our value is so much more than selling grocery product lines, we need to capitalise on the fact that we are healthcare professionals and support families with the healthcare and product knowledge that only we as community pharmacists can offer. Our value is in our advice and service and many parents visit pharmacies as they need human reassurance when discussing the health of their precious child. With this in mind, I would like to highlight some of the challenges that I raised on reflection of this market last year.
The Biggest Challenges:
• Nappies, formula, wipes, baby food and essential hygiene products. Margins in these areas have never been remarkable and the access to the consumer to these lines in Supermarkets, convenience stores etc has led us to compete with retailers in a larger more price sensitive industry. The
challenge is that while many pharmacies have traditionally stocked these lines, it might be worth asking yourself if it’s worth it. By stepping back from these low margin lines we can allow ourselves to step up in other ways which I’ll discuss later when discussing opportunities.
• The provision of fertility services. We are specialists in health, and we should ensure we are offering fertility dispensing services, supplements and guidance to parents trying to conceive. There are many useful Webinars available through the PSI and IPU which can help update your knowledge.
• Streamlining of purchasing habits. Consumers have sped up the trend to do their research on what products they would like online and are not always engaging with pharmacy teams for advice. A lot of the products which we sell to parents are OTC meds – they don’t tend to buy these online as the need is generally instant and a delay in waiting for delivery is not an option. I will speak about this more later as an opportunity. Whilst online is suitable for many lines and many industries, for the baby health market the value of in-store purchasing should not be underestimated.
Now that we have considered the biggest challenges facing us in Pharmacy in relation to the baby market, we can realign our strategy to seek opportunity. We have always been at the heart of our communities, and that has only been amplified by the pandemic over the past two years. Our customers trust us and know that we will always remain accessible and with open doors. This is a huge opportunity for our industry, as we remained accessible and did not push a wedge of distance between ourselves and our customers. That friendly smile, and reassuring advice can be invaluable and can gain you a customer for life.
The Opportunities
• Parents have become more inclined to purchase more niche brands which include natural or organic products and ecoethicals. Consider swapping out some of your bulky low margin supermarket lines to refined choices within these niches. The key here is the consumer experience – these are feel good purchases and so need to be merchandised in an inviting and higher end manner.
• Fertility assistance. Products like Pre-Conceive, Proceive, and Medicare Femsense Ovulation Detection Patches can be items required by parents trying to conceive. Having a section dedicated to family planning can be useful in some areas. It’s worth testing your market. It is essential to ensure your pharmacy team are well briefed on how to support fertility patients in store with the Pharmacist ensuring a high level of counselling is being provided where required on fertility based prescriptions. Having empathy for this patient cohort can nurture relationships and create a loyal consumer going forward. This particular patient group truly need to have a professional and warm patient journey through our pharmacies.
• The online consumer – There is a tendency for parents to research products before visiting the store to purchase, or for certain lines they will purchase online. The area that we need to focus on is the area that sets us apart! We are healthcare specialists – healthcare is what we do. We are extremely capable and well trained to deliver a valuable service. Engaging with customers is key here to build relationships and create sales opportunities. New parents love nothing more than to have an accessible healthcare professional that they trust to rely on. We serve to allay their fears and identify symptoms. They trust us to respond appropriately by suggesting treatment or referring when needed. We are best served by evolving and innovating without losing our core values or sacrificing standards. It is important to remember that both online and offline interaction are key to a positive customer experience. In-store shopping experience will remain strong even in the digital era. We are lucky to have the opportunity to engage on a personal level with our customers in a way which would not be invited in other retail settings. We have also shown this demographic what we will remain the accessible heart of community health when other sectors of shown the opposite.
• Merchandising – Parents need buggy accessible stores with easy and clear merchandising. They want to be able to navigate the store quickly and efficiently with a tantruming toddler in tow. We can make the customer journey positive by assisting, smiling and engaging with both the customer and their family! Everyone (big and small!) needs to love visiting their local pharmacy! Pharmacy teams need to ensure that payment transactions are easy, smooth and quick. The marketing advice is that retail spaces should aim to become experience centres, not just places to purchase! Signage, technology, and mobile payment options all help with a good experience.
• Training – Team members need to be at the top of their game. They need to know their products well and to recommend them appropriately. Team members set the emotional tone for the consumer once they enter the store, and their attitude and engagement can be critical to the consumers journey within your pharmacy. I recommend pharmacy teams to use www.wonderbaba.ie as a training resource to assist with understanding the needs of parents and what the treatment guidelines are.
• Click and collect – this is a strong option and for young millennials, it’s a winning facility to gain footfall yet also a customer contact opportunity.
As Pharmacists there are many useful resources that we can use to ensure our knowledge on medicines during pregnancy, breastfeeding and for children is current and clear. Some of my favourite resources include:
• Drugs in Pregnancy and Lactation – Gerald G.Briggs
• https://breastfeeding-andmedication.co.uk/category/ fact-sheet
• Prescribing Medicines For Children – Charlotte Barker, Mark Turner, Mike Sharland.
• Childrens Health Ireland – https://www.olchc.ie/healthcareprofessionals/clinical-guidelines/
• Community Pharmacy – Paul Rutter
After a turbulent two years we have shown our professionalism, accessibility, and value to this patient group. The value of this demographic should not be dismissed as the baby market will offer consistent opportunity to engage new patients and families. Good service and strong relationships built on professional trust can convert new parents into lifelong customers.
