Wal-Mart Doing Wellness

I've been in a few Wal-Mart locations lately doing some store checks for one of our new clients, Durex (condoms, lubes, toys).  GREAT new client, but that's another story.

I noticed something really cool.  If you pay really close attention, you'll see that Wal-Mart is actually pitching wellness.  "Save money.  Live better." -- their brand promise and tagline.

In many ways, wellness is all about making good choices.  Should I sleep in an extra hour this morning or should I spend that extra hour at the gym?  

Should I have a powdered donut for breakfast or fat-free yogurt?  Should I refill my prescription like my doctor told me or should I save that money for something else?

We make decisions all day long, without even realizing it, that affect our wellness.  The current economic environment puts even more pressure on those decisions by adding a financial intensity like never before.  These days finances are involved in almost every decision we make, whether we realize it consciously or unconsciously.  Finances are adding a complexity to our wellness decisions, making some of those decisions even harder to make.

We anecdotally hear that consumers are skipping their meds to save money, coloring their hair at home to save money, and putting off big purchases because they don't have the cash flow they once had.

Wal-Mart seems to understand this.  They are not only telling their shoppers that Wal-Mart allows them to do more with their money but they are also telling them that Wal-Mart lets them live better.  That's wellness if I've ever seen it.  

In some ways, the brand is promising better decision making -- and in some cases a more fashionable, lower stress, more complete life.  The brand is promising wellness.  An over promise?  Not if you really think about it.

Admittedly, I don't always say this, but "Good Job, Wal-Mart!".

Hope this finds you well -- Jim.