How and when to launch your own online nutrition store for your clinic

4 ways to serve your patients the products they are already buying elsewhere with an online nutrition store

Roughly 8% of the average chiropractic professional’s income is derived from product sales, according to Chiropractic Economics’ 2022 Annual Salary & Expense Survey. After hot and cold compresses, nutritional products/supplements are the second most common type of products offered. If you don’t already have these items for sale on your website, or in your practice, you may be passing up a fast-growing sector of your patients, most of whom take one or more supplements and already shop from an online nutrition store.

A growing nutritional product market

From 2022-23, the global nutritional supplement market is expected to experience a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.3%. Functional foods and beverages are anticipated to see the most growth, followed by dietary supplements, sports nutrition products, and — to a lesser extent — fat burners.

Reasons cited for the projected increase in demand include the general population’s desire to boost their immunity after COVID-19, a greater awareness of the benefits of a nutritious diet, and easier access to supplements via online platforms. Offering patients the latter has several advantages, especially coming from their trusted doctor.

Benefits of an online nutrition store

When you sell goods online, you’re not limited geographically. Your buyer can be in the same town or they can be across the U.S., or they can house your products. This enables you to serve both local patients and those who are interested in the items you sell but aren’t close enough to receive your services.

Another benefit of having a nutrition store on your website is that it’s open even when you are not. If you only sell nutritional products in-house, your sales hours are limited to your office hours. Yet, people can purchase from your website any time of the night or day.

Online shopping is also more convenient. It’s easier to go online and order what you want if you have a few extra minutes during the day or while on a break from work. It can be more difficult to find the time to drive to your chiropractor’s practice and make the purchase. So, prospective buyers may opt to either wait until the next time they’re in or forget the purchase altogether. Both can affect your bottom line.

4 ways to launch a nutrition store on your website

If you don’t yet have an online store, one option is to create a whole new website dedicated solely to your nutritional products. Another option is to use your existing site and launch a nutrition store on it. Here are four ways to do it:

• Use your site’s current e-commerce functionality. If you created your site and can edit it, you may be able to turn a portion of that site into an online store by using its available e-commerce functions. For sites using Wix, for example, you can add several different apps to your website’s pages to sell your nutrition products.
• Add an e-commerce plug-in. A plug-in is a type of software that serves as an add-on to your current browser to increase its functionality. There are numerous e-commerce plug-in options. OptinMonster shares that some of the best plug-ins for sites using WordPress include WooCommerce, Easy Digital Downloads and WP Simple Pay. Although, you can also use many of these on websites using other hosts besides WordPress as well.
• Utilize a Shopify button. Shopify is a highly recognized e-commerce platform, but you don’t have to use its platform to sell your nutrition products. All you have to do is add a Shopify Buy button to your existing site. This enables you to sell your goods using this platform’s technology and functionality while still retaining the convenience of having everything on your current site.
• Partner with an online dispensary. Rather than tasking yourself with building out a site, ordering products, keeping inventory, etc., an online dispensary can provide the highest-quality supplements, or you can partner solely with one company. Look for a partner that can provide a solution that eliminates the need to stock and track inventory, and also integrates with your electronic health record (EHR) system to track patient purchases and progress.

If you’re not sure how to do any of these options, or you simply don’t have the time, a website designer or consultant can help.

Set yourself up for e-commerce success

Before going live with your online store, test it to make sure it works. Taking this step also gives you the opportunity to assess your buyer’s experience. Consider whether the nutrition store is easy to use and if a transaction can be completed quickly and without any errors. Strive to offer a simple, seamless buying process so you don’t lose sales.

Once you’re satisfied that the site works, and that it works well, let your patients know. Tell them about their online buying options by including this information in your texts and emails. Share it on your social media pages as well to further expand your reach, and potentially increase your revenue by offering patients what they are already purchasing elsewhere.

CHRISTINA DEBUSK is a writer for Chiropractic Economics.