Target sells 'connected health'

Last year, Target made high-profile moves into the wellness space, both on the sales floor and in the break room. The retailer swapped out candy for granola at some of its checkouts and announced that it was offering Fitbits to 335,000 employees as part of an effort to promote employee health. Now Target is making a wellness move that appears to be further carving out the healthy niche it sees itself filling. The chain is debuting a portion of the store called the "Connected Health" section. The retailer is promoting two fitness-tracking products from health device company Qardio as the flagship products of the new section, according to Digital Trends. The devices, QardioArm (a wireless blood pressure tracker) and QardioBase (a wireless smart-scale) are not new to Target's shelves, but customers will now be able to try out the devices in the store's new section. The Connected Health area will consist of six-foot-wide displays in 550 pilot stores and will sell a total of 14 devices, according to Twice. The sections are reported as being part of the stores' pharmacies, though there is no word on how this relates to the relationship between Target and CVS, which recently acquired Target's in-store pharmacies. This is not Target's first attempt to use wireless devices as a foundation for rebuilding its brand. Last year Target debuted its "Open House," a showroom devoted to IoT connectivity, in downtown San Francisco. But whereas Target's IoT showroom has some similar competitors — Sears, for instance, opened a San Francisco showroom also geared towards showcasing solutions for a perfect smart-home — the "Connected Health" section has a unique focus on health-related wireless devices available for in-store trials. If the CVS connection were to come into play, Target's "Connected Health" store area might become a hub for managing all of a customer's healthcare data, making Target a middle-man between the customers' health-tracking devices and the in-store pharmacy. This would allow Target and CVS to offer targeted add-ons or promotions based on a Big Data picture of a customers' health needs.

• These Two Qardio Health Devices Will Anchor Target's Connected Health Section - Digital Trends
• Exclusive: Target Testing Connected Health Sections - Twice
• Target to Offer Fitbits to 335,000 Employees - Bloomberg
• Will the Target/CVS pharmacy deal lead to a future merger? - RetailWire
• Sears vs. Target: Which store operates the best connected home showroom? - Techhive
• Is Target crazy to swap granola bars for candy at its checkouts? - RetailWire