New Front-End Products Added to Marketplace—Attract New Customers

One website is all you need to find unique and distinctive front-end products to sell at your pharmacy. NCPA's website frontendmarketplace.com is your front-end connection to products that help you stand out from the competition. From skin care to pet care to snacks and more, you will find the kind of niche products that your customers are looking for and most of which you cannot find through your drug wholesaler. New posture trainer from Posture PT and sun and reading glasses from Franklin Eyewear just added!

Store Hours on the 4th of July

If your pharmacy will be closed on Monday, July 4 or operating with shortened hours, make sure you communicate that in a positive way to your customers. Instead of posting a sign that simply reads, "We are closed Monday, July 4," write something uplifting:

"So everyone can enjoy the 4th of July holiday, our store hours will be...."

"Plan ahead for your Independence Day holiday: we will be closed July 4 but will see you on the 5th"

"We will be enjoying the town parade/the town fireworks/BBQs with our families on July 4 but will be open on the 5th"

Don't make the word "closed" the biggest word on your sign. Be sure to place these reminder signs throughout your store, especially around the cash registers and drop-off and pick-up windows. Add your pharmacy's emergency after-hours phone number to the sign. Don't forget to update your store's website, social media accounts, and voicemail. Happy Independence Day!

Prepare a Summer Traveler End-Cap

Last year, more than 41 million Americans traveled 50 miles or more from home for the Independence Day long weekend. It's safe to assume we'll see similar numbers this year. Prepare a summer traveler end-cap to help meet customers' travel needs, such as travel-size OTC products, disinfecting wipes, hand sanitizer, sunscreen, lip balm, aloe, bug sprays, and more. Place your end-cap in a prominent location or near the snacks and water cooler. Don't forget the SIGN!

Quick Checks:

• Are all of the Father's Day greeting cards and gifts packed up or returned to the wholesaler?

• Do you have enough inventory of suncare products for the July 4th holiday weekend?

• Is someone checking the sunglasses rack regularly and filling holes with new sunglasses or product moved up from the bottom racks?

• Do you have adequate staffing scheduled for a busy Friday, July 1?

Study Links Vitamin Deficiencies to Migraines

A high percentage of children, teens and young adults with migraines appear to have mild deficiencies in vitamin D, riboflavin and coenzyme Q10. Read more...

Millennials' Strange Love Affair With Greeting Cards

The Boston Globe is reporting that "millennials are now buying more greeting cards than baby boomers." "The last place a millennial is going to shop is a Hallmark store; they just won't," Stracher said. "They'll go to a pop-up shop, a street fair, or an independent store, where they have an experience and where they have choice of all kinds of subject matter." Read more...

Resize Your Department Based on Market Needs

If you're following your planogram recommendations to a T, you might want to take some time to review your departments and see if your current sizes are meeting the needs of your store. If not, it might be time to resize your departments. Read more...