Value, variety could draw consumers this Christmas

Drug Store News, Sept 6, 1993 by Liz Parks

Consumers seem to have two distinct ways of thinking about drug stores as places to shop for holiday gifts. Shoppers who live in markets serviced by a wide variety of chain drug stores, such as Walgreens, Osco, Eckerd, CVS and Rite Aid, generally tend to think that drug stores are good places to shop for holiday presents--especially for last-minute stocking stuffers, inexpensive gifts, wrapping paper, candy and cards.

Other shoppers, in neighborhoods where Kmart or Wal-Mart stores are just as convenient as chain drug stores, think drug stores are "higher priced" and that they don't have a good selection of products to choose from during the Christmas season.

Many of these shoppers tell Drug Store News that they never think to shop drug stores for presents. They think of them as places to buy prescriptions or over-the-counter products.

Susan P., a Maryland wife and mother, says she just "never thinks of going to a drug store for Christmas gifts. "Maybe I'll go there and buy wrapping paper or candy. But I shop at a drug store when I need a prescription or an over-the-counter medicine," she said. "I don't even buy shampoos there; I buy those in supermarkets because it's more convenient."

She remembers seeing CVS/People's ads at Christmastime, but she has never seen an ad that would make her go out of her way to visit the store. "It's a convenience thing," she said. "I live in the middle of nowhere and I have to drive maybe half an hour or more to get to the closest chain drug store."

Down on drug stores

In upstate New York, Michelle Musetti, a mother and recent resident of North Carolina, says she would think of department stores or discount stores for gifts before drug stores.

"I might buy wrapping paper at a drug store because it's closer, but I think drug stores tend to be a little more expensive, and even though I've seen ads from chains like Fay's up here and Eckerd in North Carolina, I just don't think of them as places to go to buy Christmas gifts. They're a drug store. That's where I would go for a prescription."

But when you talk to consumers who have chains located conveniently near where they live and work, or consumers who often get flyers from chain drug stores in their mailboxes, the picture changes. Having a flyer that describes a lot of different products on sale seems to make women think more positively about drug stores.

"Drug stores have come a long way over the years," says Mimi Edwards of New Jersey, who shops primarily at CVS. "They have a nice selection of things in drug stores including perfumes. I get their flyers regularly and they give me lots of ideas for holiday times."

Edwards believes the prices are good at CVS. "I buy lots of things there for my skin, nail polish, pens and cards. They're an interesting store to shop because they're not just drugs. They have a lot of fun items."

She will also sample fragrances in drug stores "if they have testers. Unfortunately, every time I get to their tester, it's empty. But I've gone into CVS meaning to buy one or two things and come out spending $25.

"I've bought bath items for my relatives, not as gifts but because they needed them. I'd consider bath sets as a Christmas gift. There's a lot of creativity in those sets and I'd love to be able to pick my own assortment."

In Chicago, Kathy Restaino, a working wife and mother, says that at Christmas she almost always "picks up a few little somethings from drug stores.

"I have found quite a lot of nice little things in drug stores. They're not my first thought for where to shop, but I wind up shopping there for last-minute gifts and stocking stuffers. When I buy for kids, I often go there to get the Bonne Bell LipSmackers. They have a nice Christmas package: candy canes with a little Reindeer top.

"I think of Osco for nice fragrances, and that's because last year, I saw one of its ads and there was a nice selection of department store fragrances and some nice gift basket sets."

Restaino doesn't believe drug store prices are expensive. "If I'm there to pick up a prescription, I'll shop Walgreens. I think they have good prices. Osco too."

She first made Osco a destination shop for Christmas because she saw one of its Christmas ads. "It had some nice brands, good prices and they were nicely packaged. "Now that I know they have nice things, I'll go back based on my memory of their store."

Gifts for the kids

In Florida, Sharon Bassing, a teacher's aid and mother, also shops for gifts in drug stores. She likes to shop early and she likes to follow the ads, so when she sees something she likes, it pulls her into the store.

"I don't buy fragrances as gifts and I don't use cosmetics myself, so I look basically for kid's gifts. We have Toys |R' Us here, but to me, they're expensive.

"I think Eckerd has better prices, so I go there." Bassing says she usually winds up buying PlaySkool toys or Sesame Street toys "because I have a lot of nieces and nephews and some of them are very young."

Out in California, Donnalee Nelson, an ex-Los Angeles resident now living in the small town of Morro Bay, spends a lot of time shopping PayLess, both for gifts and personal items.