Retail Little Wins
Community Pharmacy is all about dispensing NHS prescriptions, isn’t it? But is it really? Let’s explore this a little bit more below in my blog around ‘retail little wins’
Community Pharmacy Landscape
The 100% bread and butter of what we do is NHS prescriptions and supporting the community to get the medication they need day to day, but this is no longer – and hasn’t been for a long time – generating the income needed to stay open just on this business.
Private Services are huge just now and rightfully so. There is so much to choose from to generate some additional income by providing services such as wax removal, weight loss services, travel and much more. This tends to be very much Pharmacist led and time consuming for those involved however, prices can be set accordingly to make these a success. I am going to have a future blog post on private services to delve into this in more detail.
Let’s talk little wins
What I want to cover is the little wins you can achieve in the Pharmacy with little investment and whilst a smaller margin, a steady income into the till on a daily basis can be achieved.
Retail has long been an area that many pharmacy owners have just swerved to focus on the bigger areas of pharmacy, but I would argue now more than ever we should be placing some attention on this area utilising the incredible teams who are on the counter. They have a good handle on what the community wants I tend to find. If I was to say that in the Pharmacy group I also run our biggest selling item by volume is actually a 99p greeting card!! This is crazy to think that a greeting card can outsell our basic GSL and P med lines but shows there is life in retail yet.
I wanted to share some of these lines to try and help with some quick wins. And to be clear, I am not paid to mention any of these companies, rather I have a genuine passion for what they do.
PEPPERSMITH MINTS – I am starting with this product range purely because I am addicted to these things and always carry a packet with me! They are a mainstay on our counters across the group and a superb pick-up line for patients. Everyone knows extra gum and smints etc, but these mints and gum are just a class above and such a reasonable price (roughly £1.60 retail). People are intrigued as they are not mass market, and we are finding that they are a repeat purchase now. (My personal favourite is the extra mints, and I also love the quirky message inside the lid!) More details HERE on Peppersmith.
WISDOM DENTAL RANGE – The wisdom range is one you can rely on to provide quality, value pricing and a full range for all your dental needs in Pharmacy. Retail pricing sits in the £1.25 upwards mark but is affordable to those on a budget. My 2 year old is a huge lover of the kids toothbrush and now won’t use anything else at brushing time. The other great thing about Wisdom is that it is a well established pharmacy known product too. Find out more on Wisdom HERE
SECOND NATURE GREETING CARDS – I spoke above about a 99p card. They do much more than just a 99p card, but this line is huge line for us to stock. People will buy 10 at a time and keep coming back. It is a neat spinner stand that can sit on the shop floor and carries a decent range of titles and styles. Min order value is also reasonable so you can keep these topped up. As mentioned, they do also do other ranges that might work for your pharmacy. More details about them can be found HERE.
VERSET FRAGRANCE RANGE – I would be surprised if most pharmacies don’t have either a counter unit or floor stand of this range. Supplying a huge range of fragrances at a decent price. Personally, I am a bit of a snob when it comes to what I like, but I now use a couple of these as a “work smell”, and they smell great and do last unlike some alternative fragrances available on the market. It does take a bit to convince customers to go with these but once they have either tried a tester or bought the entry level they come back for more. Pricing is very reasonable and is an ideal pick-up line for customers. More details on Verset HERE.
INDULGENCE JEWELLERY – Surely not, Pharmacy doesn’t stock jewellery? They do indeed and customers love the stuff! We are not talking high end here; we are talking costume jewellery lines that people buy for themselves or as a small gift for someone. The mark up for Pharmacy on these is very good (roughly double to treble cost) and certainly pays for its shelf space. Customers once again love that they can pick this kind of stuff up from pharmacy. The ranges change frequently meaning that small communities are not all going round with the same earrings! The customer service level is also worth noting from Indulgence as they will help you with stock swaps too if something is not really moving. Check out Indulgence HERE.
Some higher priced ranges, worth a look if you are wanting to really push forward-
BAMBOO CANDLES AND DIFFUSERS – We have installed around 10 or so tables into Pharmacies of this range now due to success. Great price, great product and smells amazing, especially if you have testers on the table as this entices customers even more. Check out Bamboo HERE for more details
MOOGOO SKINCARE – Australian skincare that has such an amazing story of how it came to market. The training to sell this product along with POS material sets you up for hitting the ground running and sales for us have been good for the value. Margins are also good too. MooGoo can be found HERE
MAVALA COSMETICS – Out with the old and in with the new! There has always been a mainstay in the pharmacy world for cosmetics but that is changing with the rising presence of Mavala in pharmacies. It provides a great range of products that are affordable and well liked by customers looking for a new nail varnish or lipstick. Find out more HERE
Challenge your retail space in 2025
I would challenge you all to revisit your retail space for 2025 and see what tweaks you can make to drive more cash through the tills and enhance what your community get from you. By having an exciting, well maintained and strongly merchandised pharmacy front there is a good chance you will also win new business via private and NHS services when word spreads of these little win lines you have in the pharmacy.
