With an aging population focused on health and longevity and unique challenges such as rising operational costs, changes in consumer preferences, and rapidly evolving technologies in the American retail landscape, Medtail is at an all-time high. According to data from CoStar Group, leased medical space in retail buildings has continued to rise from 16 percent in 2010 to 20 percent at the close of 2023. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services forecast that spending on health and wellness will grow at an annual rate of 5.4% through 2031. And, post-pandemic, the vacancies and availability of prime retail locations are aiding this rapidly growing retail sector.
Unlike traditional retail stores, Medtail brands are focused on providing important health and wellness services that center on a more personal and accessible healthcare experience.
With a successful history in Medtail design, Lawrence Group works closely with clients to develop dynamic spaces that create paradigm shifts in how people view health and wellness services, even de-stigmatizing health issues. Some of the country’s top Medtail brands rely on the Lawrence Group retail team to help them elevate and differentiate the patient experience, address preconceived notions, and influence mindset shifts.
Dental care, for example, is critical to overall health. However, visiting the dentist can seem like a chore at best, even eliciting extreme fear and anxiety for some patients. Enter Tend, a Medtail concept that is disrupting the multi-billion-dollar dental industry through unique branding and interior design, with a focus on hospitality and customer experience.
Tend
Lawrence Group began working with Tend in 2018, charged with developing a rollout package and architectural kit of parts for multiple locations throughout New York with plans for greater expansion across the U.S. Since that time, the team has completed more than 20 locations of Tend, starting in New York, and following in Washington, D.C., and Nashville. Lawrence Group is now working with the brand to scale 100 locations.
“It’s envisioning dentistry as part of your health and wellness regimen,” says Lawrence Group Architect and Associate Principal Matt Lundgren, co-lead on the project. “You look forward to getting your hair cut, or going to the gym, or taking care of your body, and you should look forward to taking care of your teeth as well. That was the cultural mind shift that Tend was working towards, which involved architecture, branding, and really recreating the customer experience in a dental office.”
Lawrence Group team collaborated with a number of dental consultants focusing on ergonomics and customer comfort to develop new millwork details and standards, new lighting sensibilities and controls, and to create custom elements that expanded the idea of the dentist from a basic biannual visit to an experience and culture of oral care. For Tend, it was critical to incorporate images of people into its visual branding. From each location’s street view, images of smiling, vibrant, happy people are front and center – not perfect people, but inviting and approachable.
“They very mindfully said, ‘we want to put an environment out in front of our customers that makes them feel part of a community,’ and that community is about people who are celebrating beautiful teeth,” says Thomas C. Lekometros, Managing Principal of Lawrence Group’s New York office. “Tend was very savvy in wanting to overlay the architecture with storytelling about the kind of people their customers want to be – but not in a pretentious way – in a very relaxed and accessible way.”
Tend reception desk
Lawrence Group is uniquely positioned for immediate impact on retail and Medtail projects due to its extensive healthcare experience and finely-tuned, hands-on approach to rapid retail expansion. They bring a deep understanding of building and designing clinical spaces, such as new hospitals and surgical centers. The depth of Lawrence Group’s team provides the technical expertise and market knowledge that informs their designs and allows them to roll out multiple retail locations at a time successfully.
This work has been carried over to other, more recent Medtail projects with Indigo Physio Therapy and Peachy. Indigo Physio Therapy supports women with pelvic health and physical therapy. To make women feel at ease, the physical space needed to focus on healing and progression in an environment meant to change preconceived notions about postpartum and menopausal women and how they interact and engage with their communities.
Indigo Physio Therapy
“We worked with the founding doctor to understand her patients’ needs across the variety of ages and life stages they experience,” said Lekometros. “We understand that accessibility to this kind of care changes the paradigm for the entire industry because we are meeting customers where they are at and de-stigmatizing what is too often viewed as an embarrassing topic. Our client is helping patients to talk about and be motivated to address these important, life-altering health issues through design that helps to create a comfortable, warm, easily accessible space versus more sterile clinical environments.”
Lawrence Group also assisted Peachy, a preventative Botox studio that offers patients a convenient and reliable approach to skincare in a salon-like environment. Peachy sought an architecture partner known for creating and building reliable retail expansion models. The brand wanted a partner who understands the culture behind skincare to create a uniquely curated, intimate, and playful experience for women seeking high-quality Botox and expert-led preventative wrinkle and facial care.
Peachy
Understanding the consumer’s mindset and how they will thrive in a Medtail space goes beyond studying brand goals and messaging. Lawrence Group understands that the standard rules of hospitality for retail spaces are nuanced, as consumers increasingly rely on technology, demand accessibility, and expect a personalized experience. It goes beyond forward-thinking design; Lawrence Group creates physical spaces to meet customers where they are and builds environments that differentiate and drive business.
“For us, design is demonstrating how culture works. Design isn’t figuring out what the right door handle to put on a door. Retail design is very much about what that physical experience is at a transactional level,” says Lekometros. “We’re very lucky to work with clients in this space who are forward-thinking and mindful of today’s culture.”