Net sales jump in Q3 for Drugstore.com

BELLEVUE, Wash. Drugstore.com on Tuesday reported a 23% increase in net sales to $108.8 million for the third quarter ended Oct. 3.

“Including a strong performance from SkinStore.com, over-the-counter sales increased 26% year-over-year,” stated Dawn Lepore, CEO and chairman at Drugstore.com. “During the quarter, we did experience supply constraints from a few of our major vendors and some softness in discretionary spending, which impacted growth and resulted in increased promotions,” she said. “[But] with continued growth in our [over-the-counter] and vision segments, we remain on track to hit our 2010 goals of OTC revenue growth of 24% to 28%, doubling our prestige beauty business and delivering $16 to $20 million in revenues from our partnerships.”

For fourth quarter 2010, Drugstore.com is targeting net sales in the range of $118 million to $122 million. As a reminder, fourth quarter 2010 is a 13-week period and compares with a 14-week period in fourth quarter 2009, the online retailer stated.

Drugstore.com served approximately 447,000 new customers, excluding strategic partnerships, during the quarter, up 21% over the same period in the prior year. Marketing and sales expense per new customer, excluding partnership orders, increased to $25.