REVIVING In-store Traffic
THE DRUG STORE CHANNEL IS WAGING A LONG-TERM BATTLE TO ENSURE THAT THEIR BRICK-AND-MORTAR STORES REMAIN RELEVANT B Y
M A R K
For a large number of retailers, 2020 was the nail in their brick-and-mortar coffins. The growth of e-commerce and other factors had been eroding sales from some stores for several years, but last year’s rapid transition to online shopping — or not shopping at all for some products — forced many to close their doors for good. In the drug channel, traffic and sales eroded to some degree after an initial surge last spring, and it remains to be seen how much of that lost volume will return. Many consumers who defected from the physical drug store channel during the past year apparently consolidated their shopping trips in other channels, including traditional
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supermarkets, or shopped online instead. Even those customers who remained loyal to their local pharmacies often opted for the quicker, safer, click-and-collect and curbside pickup options, which minimized their potential for in-store impulse buying. Some front-of-store categories, such as beauty care, saw significant sales declines, as homebound consumers spent less on such items. And widespread mask wearing and social distancing, intended to slow the spread of the coronavirus, had the side effect of also keeping the flu at bay during the past year, which sharply curbed sales of the OTC products that consumers traditionally buy throughout the fall and winter.
May 2021 DRUGSTORENEWS.COM
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