January 9, 2026
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How Should Target and Walmart Be Positioning Around Wellness?
Taking different approaches to the wellness opportunity, Walmart this week introduced “Better Care Services” — an online platform connecting customers to health care providers — while Target announced plans to ramp up its wellness offerings by 30%.
Walmart Expands Health Care Options Virtually
Walmart on Thursday introduced “Better Care Services,” a digital platform that offers access to third-party providers for urgent care through providers like Doctor On Demand, mental health support through resources such as BetterHelp, and metabolic health via LillyDirect, Eli Lilly’s digital health platform. Following the virtual consultation, prescriptions can be filled and scheduled for delivery (or pickup) through Walmart.
The Better Care Services platform also includes Nutrition Hub, an AI-driven tool providing personalized food and recipe recommendations for healthier choices.
Walmart is also expanding its wellness assortments across categories while instituting price rollbacks on over 1,000 wellness products. This assortment ranges from food to supplements, over-the-counter products, and fitness essentials.
Online, customers can explore more than 400 affordable “New Year reset” recipes online, plus expanded options for popular specialty diets like keto, high-protein, and gluten-free. In store, Walmart is again hosting its Wellness Event on the last Saturday in January, offering free health screenings.
“Whether it’s the care you access, the food you buy or the products you rely on, our goal is to make wellness easier,” said Ralph Clare, SVP, health and wellness merchandising for Walmart. “Customers should not have to choose between convenience, affordability and care, and at Walmart, they don’t have to.”
Target Doubles Down on Wellness Assortments
Target’s 30% hike in wellness offerings across food and beverage, beauty, supplements, vitamins, apparel, sporting goods, and tech builds on similar expansions in January in 2024 and 2025 as it “strengthens its position as the destination for everyday wellbeing.”
The wellness push continues to prioritize exclusive offerings, including this year through planned partnerships in categories like sporting goods and wearable tech, as well as affordability, with “thousands of items under $10.”
Among newer components of its wellness initiative:
- The first-ever “Target Wellness Week,” offering a wide range of promotions on wellness categories is being held in the first week of 2026.
- In-store wellness events are being held for the first time in January, with product sampling and giveaways from its private-label food, active and outdoor ranges.
- The recently launched JoyLab Glow Studio private label apparel and accessories range is being positioned at the front of the store with curated cross-category wellness displays featured throughout aisles.
- Online, a refreshed “Wellness Hub” tool, offers personalized recommendations while a revamped “Eat Well Your Way” tool lets guests shop by dietary preferences, such as protein, fiber and gluten-free.
- Target’s new marketing campaign, “Wellness, Perfectly Picked for You,” highlights the new brands and exclusive wellness offerings.
“About 70% of guests are already shopping wellness at Target and right in time for the new year, we’re bringing them even more newness and value by adding some of the most trusted, relevant and inspiring brands across our assortment,” said Lisa Roath, executive vice president and chief merchandising officer of food, essentials and beauty, Target.
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Bradley Cooper
Associate VP, Technology, SASR Workforce Solutions
Shep Hyken
Chief Amazement Officer, Shepard Presentations, LLC
Scott Benedict
Founder & CEO, Benedict Enterprises LLC
Recent Discussions
Discussion Questions
What do you think of Walmart’s ‘Better Care Services’ initiative and overall wellness proposition?
Can Target find a competitive advantage by positioning itself as a ‘destination’ for wellness?
Is the overall wellness opportunity for retailers growing or seeing some fatigue?
Poll
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As drug stores and local pharmacies close, Walmart’s Better Care Services smartly leverages its proximity to customers to replace lost health access points. By pairing digital care with in-store pharmacy pickup and delivery, it delivers a scalable, everyday wellness solution without the cost of running clinics.
I see Walmart’s ‘Better Care Services’ initiative and its broader wellness proposition as a smart, logical extension of long-standing consumer trends toward healthier eating and healthier living. Today’s shoppers aren’t just buying groceries or household essentials — they’re seeking solutions that help them live better, manage health outcomes, and make proactive choices. By bundling services like vision, hearing, immunizations, and more affordable care options alongside expanded fresh and better-for-you assortments, Walmart is positioning itself not just as a place to buy products but as a hub for everyday well-being. That aligns with broader data showing sustained consumer interest in health-oriented behaviors, from nutrition and fitness to preventive care, and it plays well into Walmart’s strengths of scale, accessibility, and everyday low prices.
Target, in turn, absolutely can find a competitive advantage by leaning harder into wellness as part of its destination strategy — particularly through curated assortments, in-store experiences, and partnerships that reinforce healthier lifestyles. Target has made strong moves in categories like beauty-wellness, athleisure, active nutrition, and home health essentials, and there’s clear opportunity to knit those into a cohesive wellness narrative that differentiates the brand from both discounters and specialty players. Creating targeted ecosystems around “well-being moments” — from stress management to immune support to sleep optimization — could help Target deepen loyalty and expand share of wallet in a way few competitors have fully exploited.
On the question of whether the wellness opportunity is growing or showing signs of fatigue, my view is that the trend reflects enduring consumer insights rather than being a fad. While no trend is immune to cyclical shifts, the structural drivers behind wellness — aging demographics, heightened health awareness post-pandemic, and the integration of digital health and wearable technology into everyday life — suggest that consumers will continue to prioritize well-being in how they shop. Retailers that build thoughtful, differentiated, and value-oriented wellness strategies — whether through assortments, services, or omnichannel experiences — are well-positioned to benefit. In that sense, wellness isn’t a passing buzzword; it’s a strategic consumer imperative that smart retailers should support and develop over the long haul.
I definitely think they should both be for it! Actually, as satirical as that comment is, it hints at one of the problems of what might seem like a no brainer promotion: both are general merchandisers who, of necessity, must appeal to the widest possible market; while many will be interested in “wellness” – however one wishes to define that vague term – large numbers of shoppers couldn’t care less. It’s important that this group not be ignored or alienated. either implicitly (by something like de-emphasizing price) or explicitly (by trading out popular product lines that dosn’t fit the wellness mantra.)
I remember years ago when Walmart/Sam’s had pharmacy lines added to their offerings. I thought it made sense then, and it still does for Walmart, Target, Amazon, and other retailers today. It allows customers to have a one-stop-shopping experience. If you have customer loyalty, it makes sense to extend offerings and programs to the customers who already love you. Just make sure those offerings stay relevant.
There is a need for more wellness services. There is a bigger need for more wellness education. Sadly, part of this has nothing to do with real wellness, but rather with products people think they should purchase to do the right thing—certainly a reasonable strategy for retailers.
But, shouldn’t they stop promoting (I didn’t say stop selling) food products that offer massive amounts of fats, sodium, and cholesterol?
I agree with your thinking on the (purposely) vague definitions of health & wellness.
Large enough to coverall consumers & broad enough to sell many aisles in that terminology.
I keep hoping for it to be a real 365 day retail endeavor… vs trite Q1 push.
Year round education from dieticians and athletic trainers would be authentic.
.
Each January, Target increases its offerings of wellness-related products across multiple categories: Nutrition and Fitness, Self-Care and Beauty, plus a push for New Brands. But the more press they run to highlight, the more inauthentic.
True, none of it erases the promos for junk food aisles of stores. (Where Target loses to Walmart by not having all the real food)
Wellness is a huge growth area, mainly because it is of great interest to consumers. However, the curse of the popularity is that many retailers are pivoting to the space. So, both Walmart and Target need to differentiate. For Walmart, there is a lot of upside as it adds more innovative brands and pulls in more younger and affluent shoppers who over index on wellness spend. Target is more mature in the space, so growth is harder to come by.
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As drug stores and local pharmacies close, Walmart’s Better Care Services smartly leverages its proximity to customers to replace lost health access points. By pairing digital care with in-store pharmacy pickup and delivery, it delivers a scalable, everyday wellness solution without the cost of running clinics.
I see Walmart’s ‘Better Care Services’ initiative and its broader wellness proposition as a smart, logical extension of long-standing consumer trends toward healthier eating and healthier living. Today’s shoppers aren’t just buying groceries or household essentials — they’re seeking solutions that help them live better, manage health outcomes, and make proactive choices. By bundling services like vision, hearing, immunizations, and more affordable care options alongside expanded fresh and better-for-you assortments, Walmart is positioning itself not just as a place to buy products but as a hub for everyday well-being. That aligns with broader data showing sustained consumer interest in health-oriented behaviors, from nutrition and fitness to preventive care, and it plays well into Walmart’s strengths of scale, accessibility, and everyday low prices.
Target, in turn, absolutely can find a competitive advantage by leaning harder into wellness as part of its destination strategy — particularly through curated assortments, in-store experiences, and partnerships that reinforce healthier lifestyles. Target has made strong moves in categories like beauty-wellness, athleisure, active nutrition, and home health essentials, and there’s clear opportunity to knit those into a cohesive wellness narrative that differentiates the brand from both discounters and specialty players. Creating targeted ecosystems around “well-being moments” — from stress management to immune support to sleep optimization — could help Target deepen loyalty and expand share of wallet in a way few competitors have fully exploited.
On the question of whether the wellness opportunity is growing or showing signs of fatigue, my view is that the trend reflects enduring consumer insights rather than being a fad. While no trend is immune to cyclical shifts, the structural drivers behind wellness — aging demographics, heightened health awareness post-pandemic, and the integration of digital health and wearable technology into everyday life — suggest that consumers will continue to prioritize well-being in how they shop. Retailers that build thoughtful, differentiated, and value-oriented wellness strategies — whether through assortments, services, or omnichannel experiences — are well-positioned to benefit. In that sense, wellness isn’t a passing buzzword; it’s a strategic consumer imperative that smart retailers should support and develop over the long haul.
I definitely think they should both be for it! Actually, as satirical as that comment is, it hints at one of the problems of what might seem like a no brainer promotion: both are general merchandisers who, of necessity, must appeal to the widest possible market; while many will be interested in “wellness” – however one wishes to define that vague term – large numbers of shoppers couldn’t care less. It’s important that this group not be ignored or alienated. either implicitly (by something like de-emphasizing price) or explicitly (by trading out popular product lines that dosn’t fit the wellness mantra.)
I remember years ago when Walmart/Sam’s had pharmacy lines added to their offerings. I thought it made sense then, and it still does for Walmart, Target, Amazon, and other retailers today. It allows customers to have a one-stop-shopping experience. If you have customer loyalty, it makes sense to extend offerings and programs to the customers who already love you. Just make sure those offerings stay relevant.
There is a need for more wellness services. There is a bigger need for more wellness education. Sadly, part of this has nothing to do with real wellness, but rather with products people think they should purchase to do the right thing—certainly a reasonable strategy for retailers.
But, shouldn’t they stop promoting (I didn’t say stop selling) food products that offer massive amounts of fats, sodium, and cholesterol?
I agree with your thinking on the (purposely) vague definitions of health & wellness.
Large enough to coverall consumers & broad enough to sell many aisles in that terminology.
I keep hoping for it to be a real 365 day retail endeavor… vs trite Q1 push.
Year round education from dieticians and athletic trainers would be authentic.
.
Each January, Target increases its offerings of wellness-related products across multiple categories: Nutrition and Fitness, Self-Care and Beauty, plus a push for New Brands. But the more press they run to highlight, the more inauthentic.
True, none of it erases the promos for junk food aisles of stores. (Where Target loses to Walmart by not having all the real food)
Wellness is a huge growth area, mainly because it is of great interest to consumers. However, the curse of the popularity is that many retailers are pivoting to the space. So, both Walmart and Target need to differentiate. For Walmart, there is a lot of upside as it adds more innovative brands and pulls in more younger and affluent shoppers who over index on wellness spend. Target is more mature in the space, so growth is harder to come by.