Prepare for the upcoming cold & allergy season with these ideas and tips to improve the shopping experience and make the most of sales opportunities.
The 2024-2025 flu season was classified as high severity, for all age groups, the first time since 2017-2018. While predictions about the upcoming season vary, it’s best to be prepared. Encourage your customers to be prepared as well by creating an endcap stocked with essentials such as tissues, hand sanitizer, disinfectants, and over-the-counter medications to fight flu symptoms. If you carry throw blankets, eye masks, essential oils and diffusers, or other items meant to provide
comfort, add these items to the endcap as well. Promote flu vaccinations with signage in both the department and endcap.
If you have space in your cold & allergy department, refer to our “Ideas for Cross-selling Merchandise” infographic for complementary items that can inspire impulse sales among shoppers. Any ways you can introduce convenience in shopping trips for your customers is beneficial to building satisfaction and loyalty.
In November 2024, the FDA announced, “it is proposing to remove oral phenylephrine as an active ingredient that can be used in over-the-counter (OTC) monograph drug products for the temporary relief of nasal congestion after an agency review of the available data determined that oral phenylephrine is not effective for this use.” This is a proposed order, not a final order, which means the FDA is seeking public comments. Set up a Google alert for any new updates to the FDA website regarding phenylephrine to stay up to date on the latest decisions.