RITE AID

CAMP HILL, Pa. — Americans make hundreds of millions of New Year's resolutions every year, following some to the letter and ignoring others. Health-related resolutions are among the most common, giving pharmacy retailers a way to pitch in and help.

NEW YORK — Retailers will report weak December front-end sales growth across the drug channel as continued inflation likely was offset by the slow start to the flu season and disappointing overall traffic and volume growth, Credit Suisse research analyst Ed Kelly suggested in a note published Tuesday.

"While drug stores have been fairly successful passing through product cost inflation at the shelf, our Nielsen Trend Tracker shows that volumes have decelerated in recent months given the weak consumer and normal price elasticity," he wrote.