Eighty-three laxatives carry 91% of sales

Drug Store News, Nov 19, 1990 by Ted Gladson

Eighty-three laxatives carry 91% of sales

SAMI/Arbitron figures for laxatives and stool softeners for last year show sales of over $353 million, an increase of only 0.6 percent. Unit sales, on the other hand, showed a decrease of 2 percent, to less than 77 million units. Eighty-three items, representing 91 percent of laxative category sales, are represented by this planogram. also included in the planogram are anti-diarrheals.

The top-selling laxative brands in our planogram and their total SKU shares are Metamucil with 25 percent, Ex-Lax, 4.8 percent; Phillips, 5.7 percent; Correctol, 5.9 percent; Ducolax, 5.1 percent; and Senokot, 5.8 percent. These six brands alone account for 52.3 percent of all sales in the segment.

Consumers are becoming more aware of the fiber content of laxatives, thanks to increasing press coverage of the relationship between high-fiber diets and lower instances of colon cancer. Consumers also appeciate the gentler action and the "fruity" tastes exhibited by many newer laxative products.

Ease of use and gentler modes of action are also of primary importance to laxative users. The growing demand for gentler, more "natural" laxatives has manufacturers responding to consumers' needs, as the market has been flooded with laxatives that tout "low sodium", "sugar free", "better tasting" and "all natural" characteristics.

The term "graying of America" is very meaningful to this department, as the leading purchasers of laxative products is the over-50 population. The elderly consumer segment is usually more price conscious, as many of these people are on fixed incomes and therefore more sensitive to promotions.

This age group is also more brand loyal and tends to purchase their brand when and where they see a savings. Only brand-name labels were included in the planogram, even though private label products account for 13.5 percent of the category's total dollar sales. Once again, if you stock private label items, they should be placed to the right of the items (and sizes) to which they are equivalent.

The drug store has an advantage in this department because of the presence of a pharmacist, and generally has a department that is three times larger than that found in a grocery store.

The trends toward self-care has had its effect on the OTC laxative market, according to some observers. Laxatives are often merchandised adjacent to a store's antacids section, as both categories offer relief of symptoms rather than a cure.