Retail sales at drug stores grew by 3.6% in 2011, reaching $230 billion, and are expected to increase by a further 5% in 2012. Growth is driven by the aging population, rising levels of obesity and obesity-related illnesses and conditions such as diabetes and heart disease. As these groups seek treatment for their conditions, they turn to drug stores for health-related needs. Additionally, rising costs of health care are causing many to limit or avoid visits to their doctors, rather preferring self-diagnosis or assistance from a pharmacist or in-store clinic when seeking medical advice and treatment. Though competition exists from other channels, Walgreens and CVS remain the leaders among drug stores visited in general, as well as the top two destinations for prescription refills. Online retailing is slower to take off in this space, but it is expected to grow as consumers continue to adopt mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. This report closely examines these themes as well as a variety of other factors impacting the drug store shopper.

Some of the key issues covered in this report include:

How the growing aging population will drive drug store visits

How levels of obesity and diabetes are on the rise and will result in more adults seeking care and treatment

How rising health care costs cause people to self-diagnose and self-medicate

The impact of other retail channels for health and wellness needs

Total retail sales at drug stores in the U.S.

Segment performance across key CPG segments sold through drug stores

The impact of and interest in retail health clinics

Social media presence and other marketing activity among leading drug store retailers

Reasons for not shopping at drug stores

Type and frequency of items purchased at drug stores

Shopping behavior at online drug stores

Retailers shopped for prescriptions and shopping behavior around prescriptions

Attitudes toward drug store shopping

Attitudes toward health clinics and treatment received at clinics

How race and Hispanic origin impact shopping behavior and attitudes toward drug store shopping