Lori's White Paper: Elevating Hospital Satisfaction

Elevating

PREPARED BY

Methodology

In 2023, Lori’s successfully concluded an extensive research initiative aimed at understanding the primary factors contributing to overall distress within hospitals among employees and visitors. Understanding the problems to solve and what solutions were needed illuminated the pivotal role that retail within a hospital can play in enhancing the overall hospital experience.

Lori’s partnered with Bixa, an award-winning market research company with extensive experience in consumer research. The blend of qualitative and quantitative research methods provided a comprehensive view of our targets, with depth of insights to drive confident business decisions. The results were statistically significant given the large, national sample of participants.

3 Target Groups:

• Hospital Employees

• Hospital Patients

• Hospital Visitors

*Bixa custom research, n=1,235

Methods Used:

• Quantitative Survey Research

• Qualitative Focus Groups

• Qualitative1:1 Interviews

Analysis Approach:

• Descriptive Statistical Models

• Inferential Statistical Models

• Cluster Analysis

The Hospital Challenge

The way people experience healthcare has seen dramatic change over the last decade and has only accelerated post-pandemic. Patient lifestyles have changed as they shift their daily lives, including healthcare, online. Telehealth has exploded and home healthcare, physician groups, and urgent care centers are drawing patients and employees away from the traditional hospital.

Employees left are pressured to fill the gaps, performing non-clinical tasks, working long hours, and needing second jobs to make ends meet. Patients and visitors suffer from boredom and long waits for care. Stress, burnout, exhaustion, and frustration are running rampant in hospitals, impacting employee attraction, retention, job satisfaction, and overall patient satisfaction. Given these trends, retail spaces within the hospital are also experiencing change. There has been a shift in who is shopping, how they shop, and what they need.

Hospital employees now make up the majority of shoppers to the gift shop.

What shoppers buy has shifted to food, beverages, and necessities.

By addressing these consumer shifts, retail can address many of the challenges hospital employees and patients are experiencing.

Hospital gift shops have historically been a space to buy last minute “Get Well” or “Congratulations” gifts, or to purchase items a patient or visitor might have forgotten for an overnight stay. With the evolving landscape, the gift shop has become a place of respite, social interaction,

and refueling for exhausted hospital employees. Therefore, the ‘traditional’ hospital gift shop needs to evolve, and in so doing can positively contribute to reducing stress, improving morale, and increasing overall hospital satisfaction.

Hospitals need to deeply understand the emotional condition of both their employees, patients, and visitors to explore the role retail plays on campus. Only then can solutions be implemented that positively impact the overall hospital experience, satisfaction, and ultimately the hospital’s bottom line.

Hospital Employees and

STRESS EXHAUSTION

Hospital employees experience mental, emotional, and physical stress given the demands of the job.

31% of hospital patients and visitors experience stress related to care, but 25% also struggle with boredom.

Employees use breaks to combat exhaustion. 63% want to relax on break .

Top 5 ways employees relax on break:

• 57 % interact with cell phones

• 56% socialize with co-workers

• 46% eat

• 36% shop

• 31% talk on the phone

TIME PRESSURE

Due to busy schedules, hospital employees can’t make time to do what they love or daily chores, which further contributes to their overwhelming stress.

Visitors Struggle With...

LACK OF CONVENIENCE

Hospital employees leave their places of work tired. They then have personal demands that drain them, such as stopping to get groceries, gas, meal prep and childcare. These are chores, not enjoyable stops, which add more stress.

76 %

of employees need to make at least one stop during their commute, usually to the grocery or convenience store.

#1 Concern

for visitors outside of medical needs is finding desirable food or drink options at the hospital other than from cafeterias or from vending machines.

Improving the Hospital Experience the Hospital

The retail experience on a hospital campus plays a unique role in the overall experience for both hospital employees and visitors. Since employees want to relax by socializing, eating, and shopping on break, they often frequent the retail store, and visitors use the store to cope with stress and boredom.

Over 80% of hospital employees frequent their campus retail shop on a regular basis.

Infrequently Once Per Month A Few Times Per Week A Few Times Per Month

Daily

How often do you as a hospital employee visit a retail shop in the hospital?

The retail shop is as important as the cafeteria in providing satisfying food options, especially since people rarely leave campus. And when the cafeteria is closed, retail must fill the void.

How often do you get food from the following:

Cafeteria (45%)

Retail Shop (42%)

Coffee Cart (21%)

Vending Machines (15%)

Experience by Reimagining Hospital Retail Space

Traditionally, hospital gift shops sold products to patients who arrived without items like socks, pajamas, toiletries, etc. Research showed that 89% of patients had everything they needed while at the hospital, given 73% were there for a day or less. With the increase in outpatient care and shorter inpatient stays, needs from retail have changed.

Improving the Hospital Experience

Both employees and visitors see the retail store as an option to help alleviate their stressors, needs to be staffed, curated, managed, and operated by someone who understands both the the physical needs of who is walking in the door.

WHAT EMPLOYEES AND VISITORS WANT TO ALLEVIATE

TAKE SOMETHING OFF MY PLATE

• Help me eliminate making stops before or after work so I can spend more time with my family.

• Help me simplify the chores I have to do outside of work.

CONNECTION WITH OTHERS

• Help me release my stress by connecting with a friendly face who cares about me.

• Having a place to socialize with others helps me forget about my problems.

stressors, but the retail experience the emotional needs as well as

Experience by Reimagining the Retail Space

ALLEVIATE STRESS, TIME PRESSURES, AND BOREDOM

SELF-CARE

• Help me find time for myself, since I am always serving others.

• Help me find things to make me feel better, help me relax, or allow me to indulge.

PASS THE TIME

• Help me deal with waiting, so time can pass more quickly.

• Help divert my attention so I’m not solely worrying about the patient I’m visiting.

Conclusion

• Hospital administrators are facing a myriad of challenges in managing healthcare institutions. Finances, patient care and satisfaction, workforce management, and community engagement are all key areas of focus for improvement.

• Understanding the emotional state of those in the hospital is critical to identifying meaningful solutions that improve the hospital experience for employees, patients, and visitors.

• Those who work or visit hospitals are experiencing stress, time pressures, exhaustion and boredom, and are looking for ways to escape these pressures. Their satisfaction is directly tied to their emotional state.

• Socializing, relaxing, eating, and shopping are top ways to reduce stress and boredom in the hospital. Providing impactful ways to encourage these behaviors are key.

Hospital retail is uniquely positioned to address these challenges, but it needs to be reimagined given the current mix of shoppers and their needs.

Hospital administrators should leverage retail as a key part of their growth strategy and choose a partner that has expertise and solutions to address these pressing challenges.

What’s Next?

Choosing the right retail partner is an important part of elevating the hospital experience. At Lori’s, we stand apart by placing people and purpose at the forefront of our mission. Our commitment goes beyond selling products; it’s about being a trusted place for joy and support when people need it most.

When you choose Lori’s, you’re not just choosing a retailer; you’re inviting in a partner that intimately cares about improving the employee and visitor hospital experience.

We’re not your traditional hospital gift shop. Consumer needs have changed, so we’ve changed too. Discover Lori’s unique blend of benefits that is redefining what the hospital retail experience can be.