April 28, 2021 by David Ritter and Patricia Hong
David Ritter and Patricia Hong are managing directors in Alvarez & Marsal Consumer and Retail Group
April 26, 2021, Opinion
Sitting at the intersection of retail and health care, 2020 and 2021 have been profoundly challenging years for the retail drug store channel. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic had once-in-a-generation impacts across the full business — both pharmacy and retail. On the pharmacy side, there were shifts in chronic versus acute prescription volumes, channel
April 28, 2021 by Ben Winters
Ben Winters is chief innovation officer at Ideoclick
April 26, 2021, Opinion
Nearly every brand has faced enormous disruption to the ways they reach consumers during the past year. A typical consumable CPG brand may have previously experienced 5% of total sales online and 90% in store. Now, as e-commerce approaches 20% of total commerce, the stakes have grown much higher. There is a sense of urgency
April 28, 2021 by Steven Robins
Steven Robins
April 26, 2021, Opinion
As nutritional products continue to post impressive growth, chain drug stores must decide how to best differentiate their stores and e-commerce platforms from pure e-commerce players. To me, establishing chain drug as the most trusted and reliable channel to shop this $20 billion category should be priority No. 1. Success will rely on promoting high-quality,
April 27, 2021 by Brian Ross
a NielsenIQ company, Brian Ross, Brian Ross is president of Precima
April 26, 2021, Opinion
The promise and power of personalization is always based on relevance, which requires the most robust understanding of how customers shop and their ever-changing needs in terms of categories, products, brands, information, price, value and channel. Throughout the pandemic, there have been tremendous changes that impact almost every way these customers shop — from their
April 27, 2021 by Tom Furphy
Tom Furphy is chief executive officer and managing director of Consumer Equity Partners.
April 26, 2021, Opinion
As society is becoming vaccinated and moving through 2021 further past the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, we find ourselves in a world much different than it was just 15 months ago. The changes necessitated by the pandemic shutdowns have permanently changed many behaviors and transformed several aspects of customers’ lives. People will be working
April 27, 2021 by Larry Levin
Larry Levin is executive vice president of Market and Shopper Intelligence for IRI
April 26, 2021, Opinion
Health has become one of the top priorities for consumers over the past year, with vitamin, minerals and supplement (VMS) sales skyrocketing nearly 20% since the pandemic started, far ahead of the overall CPG market. Even with vaccines rolling out, a commitment to sticking to self-care regimens and disease prevention will still be prevalent. Retailers
April 27, 2021 by Lari Harding
Lari Harding is vice president of client development at Inmar Intelligence.
April 26, 2021, Opinion
Even before the pandemic, pharmacies were struggling. Now, the pressures are even greater as demand shifts, digital disruption escalates and the need for health equity is in the spotlight. Access to health care is critical for Americans, and 90% of Americans live within five miles of a pharmacy. While there are some components of health
April 27, 2021 by Dave Wendland
Dave Wendland is HRG vice president of strategic relations
April 26, 2021, Opinion
In recent months, big data has been an often-discussed topic among business leaders as they consider ways to adjust their businesses to contend with the effects of the pandemic, which continues to shape shopping behavior. Across the retail industry, companies are still struggling to put data-driven strategies into action. In November 2020, Exasol published research
April 26, 2021 by Chain Drug Review
Chris Caulfield vice president of Temptime Operations at Zebra Technologies
April 26, 2021, Technology
MORRIS PLAINS, N.J. — The pharmaceutical industry is facing unprecedented pressure to execute at the highest level as it works to move massive quantities of the COVID-19 vaccine through the supply chain. Vaccine manufacturers, logistics providers, packaging companies and technology providers are collaborating to ensure that precious doses arrive at their destinations as quickly as
April 26, 2021 by Sivakumar Lakshmanan
Sivakumar (Siva) Lakshmanan is chief operating officer of AI Forecasting and Supply Chain at antuit.ai
April 26, 2021, Opinion
It’s become a cliché to say that the COVID pandemic has changed everything about retail, especially the acceleration to online shopping and the creation of demand for categories previously on the fringe of most merchandisers’ plans. While the food business has been the primary beneficiary of this transformation, mainly due to the shuttering of so
April 26, 2021 by Alan Levin
Alan Levin, former president and chief executive officer of Happy Harry’s
April 26, 2021, Opinion
The decade of the ’60s brought us many things — the New Frontier, the Cold War, the Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam War and the children of the “Greatest Generation.” Each of these helped shape the U.S. and the world, leading to a new way of shopping. From the ’60s came the birth of self-service
April 26, 2021 by Audrey Depraeter-Montacel
Audrey Depraeter-Montacel
April 26, 2021, Opinion
COVID-19 is altering consumer behaviors, and many of these shifts could be permanent. The pandemic has had a profound and enduring impact on consumers. Recent Accenture research shows that the majority (95%) of consumers are making significant and lasting changes to how they live, work and shop. COVID-19 has also triggered an economic recession that
April 26, 2021 by Dwight de Vera
Dwight de Vera is general manager of Healthcare at Inmar Intelligence.
April 26, 2021, Pharmacy
It’s happening again. Another pharmacy operator is facing federal prosecution for allegedly mismanaging prescription opioids and violating the Controlled Substances Act. And the civil penalties being sought by the Department of Justice could total in the billions of dollars. The message is clear This action by the DOJ should serve as clear indication that the
April 26, 2021 by Bob Kwait
Bob Kwait, Bob Kwait is chairman of Kwait & Associates/Bob Kwait Consulting Group, vaccines
April 26, 2021, Opinion
The opportunity at retail at this moment, with consumers setting up appointments and coming in to get their vaccines at store level, is a great opportunity for the retailers to expose their services to the consumers. It is also a way to bring in new customers to a store that they have never shopped at