The Challenge of Luring Drugstore Consumers to Beauty
Since this reporter rarely needs a prescription (knock on wood), I’ve always visited drugstores for fun things — new makeup, greeting cards or snacks. Last night, however, I truly understood the challenge drugstore chain executives speak of when they discuss how many of their patrons are there while they are sick and need a remedy — a new mascara isn’t on their agenda.
More than 60 percent of those entering a pharmacy are there to head to the Rx counter. That includes many women who currently might shop a department or specialty store. The theory has always been that, while en route to the pharmacy, shoppers might be enticed to buy a beauty product.
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Last night, with my 15-year-old in tow with a severe sinus infection, all we wanted was the antibiotic (which they didn’t have a full prescription of, but that’s another story). Even this beauty-hog teen couldn’t be bothered to look at the rows of cosmetics. It made me realize how challenging it truly is to make a quick statement in cosmetics that might be retained in consumers’ head as they are waiting for relief.
Upon returning home, there were images in my head from our wait for the prescription. I remember a soft greenish sign advertising cosmetics. In fact, the cosmetics department was just off to the right of the Rx area. Had I been waiting for a more mundane prescription, I would have wandered in.
The other images I recalled were point-of-purchase displays, specifically for Maybelline’s Pulse Perfection. The displays jutting out from the fixtures that I sometimes find annoying actually served as reminders of new items I might want to purchase on my next visit.
The bottom line is that, although much discussion is placed on the role of service in drugstore chains, the last thing I would have wanted would have been someone approaching me on this very specific visit for a remedy and asking if I’d like a facial. What does work, at least with people not entering a drugstore for beauty, are subtle touches — signs, displays, endcaps and other tools that are almost subliminal in their message.
These are all reasons why drugstore chains are investing so much money into new prototypes and why they are scrutinizing category adjacencies and traffic flow. The true future of building beauty will be in attracting more shoppers who enter for prescriptions, but leave — or return — for the beauty department. New store prototypes to get excited about include Walgreens and Duane Reade. Duane Reade’s much-awaited flagship is set to open next week. WWDBeautyNews will be there — and not for a prescription (I hope).
People, Places and Things
A few words with Wade Gerten, chief executive officer and founder of Alvenda, a commerce-enabled network and application developer. Alvenda develops Shoplets, which are banner ads on other Web sites where consumers can shop without clicking off the site they are on to shop.
WWD Beauty Biz: Can you give an example of how Shoplets work?
Wade Gerten: They are banners, but you can shop without clicking off the site. For Mother’s Day, we had an A/B test with 1-800-Flowers.com. In the A/B test, millions of Shoplets were distributed to publisher Web sites alongside comparable banner advertisements promoting Mother’s Day gifts. More than 75 million impressions across premium publisher Web sites were served in the first few days of the campaign. The Alvenda Shoplets delivered 41 percent more sales per impression and a 10.5 lift in interaction rates compared to the banner advertisements. It was also observed that, when promotional language was added to the Shoplet, interaction rates dropped by 20 percent, suggesting consumers prefer to interact with brands, not advertisements. The more the Shoplet looked like an advertisement, the sharper the decline interactions.
WWD Beauty Biz: What impact will this have on shopping on the Web?
W.G.: We believe the majority of true online sales will happen off-site. Customers will be able to shop with brands wherever they happen to be, whether they’re on YouTube, a favorite blogger Web site or in Facebook. We are making it easier to shop.
What’s in Store
The Fragrance Is Going to Be a Good, Good Fragrance: Avon Products announced a partnership with award-winning artist Fergie. Fergie and her group, The Black Eyed Peas, are on a roll with numerous hits from their latest release, “The E.N.D.”
Shoppers Drug Mart Expands Exclusives: Shoppers Drug Mart has a new exclusive line of health and beauty products called Balea. Balea includes hair care, wipes, lip balms, lotions and foot creams including items for kids and men.