In this Issue

Fifteen years of ExtraCare data is influencing everything from how the company builds stores to how it communicates with customers.

CROMWELL, Conn. — Earlier this year, i-Health identified a niche need within the probiotic segment — an adult-strength chewable version of its probiotic brand, called Culturelle Digestive Health Probiotic Chewables, for those consumers in search of alternatives to the tablets and caplets.

The new product launch has contributed to an overall brand lift of 44.5% to $61.6 million in total U.S. multi-outlet sales for the 52 weeksended Aug. 11, according to IRI.

CROMWELL, Conn. — i-Health’s Estroven has been dialing up sales tracked within feminine pain relievers. The core brand generated $16.2 million within the last 52 weeks ended Aug. 11 across U.S. multi-outlets, according to IRI. The company’s launch of Estroven Energy has generated another $3.9 million. July brought more innovation to the category with the launch of Estroven Weight Management, a supplement specifically formulated to deliver on a core benefit of helping peri/menopausal women manage their weight.

Like politics, retailing is local. That inescapable fact is behind the ongoing build-up of Health Mart’s local marketing and patient care initiatives as McKesson shifts more store support muscle to the more than 3,100 independent pharmacies allied with the Health Mart network through its Local Marketing Support Program.

The health and pharmacy marketplace is undergoing rapid and fundamental transformation. To navigate profitably in tomorrow’s complex and shifting healthcare system, the pharmacy benefit management industry — along with the pharmacies and health plan payers allied with PBMs — are going to have to change and adapt as well.

Smart device usage has become an active part of in-store shopping. According to a recent poll of Accent-Health smart device owners, nearly 3-out-of-5 have used their phone or tablet to aid in product selection while shopping in-store. However, consumers are more likely to research their next TV on their mobile device than their prescription medication. According to AccentHealth VP market research, Natalie Hill, "When it comes to medical treatment, healthcare professionals remain the most trusted source for information.

An oft-cited 1998 report, recently repeated again by the surgeon general in the January/ February 2012 "Public Health Report," estimated that 125,000 U.S. citizens die each year due to complications related to adherence. Also worrisome is the statistic that one-third to one-half of all patients don't take medication as prescribed, and according to a 2011 study by Harvard, Brigham and Women's Hospital and CVS, up to one-quarter of these never fill prescriptions at all.

By now you probably have heard about "Walgreens University," the internal education center the company opened last month, complete with technology-enhanced classrooms, a mock drug store and video-conferencing capabilities for employee educational programs.

Competing in the new age of retail, where bricks, clicks and anything in between compete for a larger share of the omnichannel customer, will require new skill sets and a generally better-educated workforce. The winners will create a more personalized shopping experience that leverages the expertise in their stores.