from the desk of Colleen Volheim, category research and analysis manager

When was the last time you reviewed your product or product line and where it is in its lifecycle? It’s likely part of your annual planning, including a look at your market segment and share overall, as well as competitors’ positions, trends, consumer behavior, and more.

Success in one channel doesn’t predicate success in all channels, thus, looking into brand performance in each retail segment your product is available in is another necessary step in your assessment. While you can acquire most of the data needed for scrutiny from partners and syndicated data, there is one channel that proves more of a challenge than others — independent pharmacy.

As mentioned earlier, all channels are not like the others, and independent pharmacy is a terrific example of that. Certain categories, subcategories, and product types may experience greater success in independents based on the demographic groups these retailers/health & wellness resources attract. There can also be geographic uniqueness, depending on population and nearest competitors. All of that to say, it’s worthwhile and profitable to look at this channel on its own. That’s where Retail IN.tell Base™ can be a valuable resource because it provides a view of the indie pharmacy channel, down to the subcategory level.

The Category Snapshot in Retail IN.tell Base offers a 12 month (latest 52 week) view and spotlights trends, and category climbers and decliners. You’ll be able to determine if there’s a trend you could capitalize on with your brand to give it new life, or if the product type is experiencing less demand and performance and an exit strategy may be prudent. Considering dual placement as a way to extend product life? You can look for white space in other categories and analyze what’s happening to determine if the timing is right. Historical data is available in Category Snapshot to allow for a deeper comparison and to further identify changes within a category.

Check out the sample reports on the site to get a sense of the data available to help you decide what strategy to follow with your product in independent pharmacies. Contact us if you’d like to learn more.