The American healthcare system is broken.
For many of us, finding the right care means navigating a maze of providers, insurance requirements, and prices that can leave you exhausted before you even schedule an appointment.
But Walmart is trying to make the whole process a little easier.
The retailer recently announced its Better Care Services platform would be partnering with General Medicine, a digital healthcare marketplace, to expand its care options.
Walmart expands Better Care Services platform
On Oct. 26, Walmart announced it will partner with General Medicine, a digital “store” where patients can search for, compare, and book medical care.
The retailer says that the partnership is designed to simplify the healthcare system by making it more shoppable.
“At Walmart, we’re always looking for ways to make the customer experience simpler and more useful,” Ralph Clare, executive vice president, Health & Wellness at Walmart U.S., said in a statement.
“Expanding Better Care Services [through the partnership] brings more care options into one place, helping customers explore what’s available, compare choices, and take the next step in a way that works for them,” he continued.
General Medicine is the 11th third-party provider employed by the marketplace.
Walmart’s healthcare push is about more than just convenience
Walmart launched Better Care earlier back in January as a “one-stop digital destination, designed to help empower millions of customers to take control of their health journeys with ease, transparency and confidence.”
The platform wasn’t Walmart’s first foray into the healthcare space. The retail giant had previously opened, and then shuttered, a chain of clinics and a virtual care initiative.
“The challenging reimbursement environment and escalating operating costs create a lack of profitability that makes the care business unsustainable for us at this time,” the company said in a statement at the time.
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Despite the setback, the company said it intended to continue innovating in the space and would launch additional services if it made sense.
However, that dedication to simplifying and democratizing the healthcare system may not be driven by convenience alone.
“This customer cohort is incredibly important for us,” Walmart U.S. CEO David Guggina said during the company’s second-quarter earnings call. “When someone becomes a health and wellness customer, they spend on average three times more than the average Walmart customer. When they begin using pharmacy delivery in addition to being a health and wellness customer, that almost doubles, yet again.
“We have a very unique opportunity to connect our pharmacy expertise, our digital capabilities, and our local fulfillment network to make healthcare more convenient and accessible while deepening our relationship with these customers,” he continued.
Engaging customers through a larger, easier-to-use Better Care platform, then, may help the retailer shore up its bottom line.
Walmart isn’t the only retailer eyeing healthcare
The expanded platform also helps the retailer better compete against major companies such as Amazon.
In 2024, Amazon launched Amazon One Medical, a platform that gives consumers access to on-demand healthcare. The service builds on Amazon’s broader push into healthcare, which includes its online pharmacy business.
Like Walmart, Amazon has been working to make healthcare more convenient by providing a more integrated experience.
For both retailers, the opportunity extends beyond healthcare itself. By making it easier for customers to access services through their platforms, they can strengthen customer relationships and encourage shoppers to return for other needs.
That’s particularly valuable for Walmart, given Guggina’s comments about how much more health and wellness customers spend compared with the retailer’s average customer.
However, making healthcare easier to navigate is only part of the challenge.
Whether Walmart’s expanded platform can meaningfully improve the customer experience will depend on the options available, how easily consumers can compare prices, and whether they ultimately find care that meets their needs and budgets.
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