Looking ahead to a glorious look back
Those of you who are even marginally committed to mass retailing in America (and elsewhere) would be wise to circle the date of December 13, 2023, on your calendar.
Opinion
Analysis angles
While businesses don’t often use the term “big data” anymore, the concept has not disappeared. The analysis of large amounts of data to mine a variety of insights and actions still provides the strongest guideposts when building a strategic direction.
How stores can drive retail’s reinvention to growth
There was a brief moment in the pandemic, while stores were shuttered and online commerce was soaring, when retailers started to wonder what kind of role the physical store still had to play. Three years on, we can say definitively that stores remain key to the retail industry’s future.
Retail transformation via breakthrough innovation
There is an age-old adage that suggests that “he who hesitates is lost.” For as long as I can remember, this simply did not seem applicable to the retail industry.
Artificial intelligence’s disruptive impact on e-commerce
The rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has ushered in a new era for e-commerce, redefining how we search for products, reshaping the foundational building blocks of success in e-commerce and transforming retailer experiences.
Bringing together two different joint business plans
the joint media plan and the joint business plan (JBP). These plans
Scripts drive trips: New insights inform growth strategies
In today’s fast-paced and evolving marketplace, pharmacies and drug stores have become an integral part of consumers’ lives. More than a place to fill prescriptions, these stores are trusted hubs for convenience and wellness today more than ever, post-pandemic.
Can generative AI unlock longevity for pharmacy?
Consumer preferences evolve every single day. But the drug store experience hasn’t kept up. Picking up a prescription is the same as it was a decade ago. But why? Is the retail pharmacy stuck? Consider this: More than 50% of the companies on the Fortune 500 list 20 years ago no longer exist.
How to best navigate the retail media explosion
One of the hottest trends in retail and advertising is the emergence of retail media networks.
A missed opportunity for retailers and CPG companies
In today’s landscape, retail pharmacies only account for 2% of the $100 billion dollar ad spend from brand- and vendor-funded retail media, according to WPP media company GroupM.
Personalized health care is the future of pharmacy
As pharmacy retailers continue to find their footing in a post-COVID world, it’s important that they look at the changing trends in health care and what consumers expect in their care.
In-store digital networks elevate shopping experience
There was a time when likely the only electronic or digital display of any kind that could be found in a pharmacy or drug store was the sign indicating the name of the business above the entrance. Today, things are very different.
Generation Alpha’s influence is taking hold at retail
WSL Strategic Retail has long advised that to see the future of retail, you have to follow the shopper. And today, many of those shoppers are following someone in very small shoes.
Retail shrink: We’ve seen the enemy, and it’s us
Retail shrinkage is a challenging topic for me to write about, not just because anytime I see or hear the word shrinkage, I can’t help but think about the Seinfeld episode focused on poor George, a cold swimming pool and an ill-timed “exposure” to a fellow house guest.
Upcoming months may shape pharmacy’s future
The balance of this year and the first months of 2024 will be a time of testing and potential transformation for retail pharmacy. Several pivotal questions, some of which have plagued the industry for many years, seem to be headed toward resolution.
It’s time we honor the MVPs of chain drug retailing
To further recognize the 90th anniversary of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, it occurs to at least one industry observer that this would be the perfect time to create a Chain Drug Store Hall of Fame.