BIGresearch: Walgreens Losing Ground Among Prescription Drug Shoppers?

Wal-Mart Filling More Prescriptions Among Lower Income Shoppers

COLUMBUS, OH -- (MARKET WIRE) – 7/29/08 – Walgreens remains the retailer of choice in the Prescription Drugs category among all adults (14.4% say they shop there most often), according to the July Retail Ratings Report from BIGresearch (http://www.bigresearch.com). However, it appears that Wal-Mart is closing the gap and increasing share of preference in this category.

Walgreens’ share decreased almost a point from July 07 (15.2%), resulting in a negative Consumer Equity Index™ (CEI)* of 94.35. #2 CVS saw a marginal decrease in consumer share year over year (13.2% in Jul 08 v. 13.6% in July 07), giving them a negative Consumer Equity Index™ (CEI)* of 97.68. Conversely, #3 Wal-Mart is growing in popularity with a two point increase in share to 10.4% (v. 8.4% in Jul 07) and a CEI of 123.71, indicating almost a 24% growth in share. *CEI measures growth in share year over year. An index of 100 is flat, while an index of 105 indicates 5% growth.

Wal-Mart is also improved among consumers with household incomes greater than $50,000. 8.2% say they shop there most often for prescriptions (v. 6.3% in July 07), giving third place Wal-Mart a CEI of 131.73. This is a significantly higher rating than the leaders in the category: Walgreens (94.53) and CVS (100.31).

Over the past year, CVS and Wal-Mart have been battling it out for the number 2 position among consumers with household incomes less than $50,000. However, Wal-Mart surpassed CVS in July. This coupled with Walgreen’s two-point nose dive in consumer preference share, gives Wal-Mart a piece of the lead among this consumer group.

Prescription Drugs (Shop at Most Often) – HH Income Less Than $50K         

            Share       Share       Share
Store       Jul 2007    Jul 2008    +/-   CEI
Wal-Mart    12.0%       13.8%       1.8   115.43
CVS         13.9%       12.2%      -1.8   87.36
Walgreens   15.8%       13.8%      -2.0   87.37     

Source: BIGresearch, Retail Ratings Report, Jul 08

“The current economic environment appears to be helping Wal-Mart increase their share among lower income shoppers,” said Pam Goodfellow, Senior Analyst at BIGresearch. “Wal-Mart’s growth seems to be at the expense of Walgreens and CVS.” 

BIGresearch’s Retail Ratings Reports (RRR) are available monthly for 12 major merchandise categories. They are developed from BIGresearch’s monthly Consumer Intentions & Actions (CIA) Survey of over 7,500 online interviews. For a sample of the May report for Groceries (all consumers and by census region), please click the following link: http://info.bigresearch.com/.

About BIGresearch
BIGresearch is a consumer intelligence firm providing solution-based insights of consumer behavior, present and future, in areas of products and services, retail, financial services, automotive and media. BIGresearch conducts the monthly Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey (CIA) of 7,500+ respondents and the semi-annual Simultaneous Media Survey (SIMM) of 15,000+ respondents. More information is available at http://www.bigresearch.com.