Walmart Pharmacy Looks to Grow

New chief merchandising officer Duncan Mac Naughton is developing merchandising changes to increase customer traffic. Walmart is placing a greater emphasis on new items and once again relying on in-aisle feature displays of sharply priced products to drive sales.

The biggest opportunity for Walmart to achieve a meaningful increase in its pharmacy count lies in the development and subsequent expansion of small-format stores, which are included in this year’s capital budget. The company plans to opens its first truly small-format stores this year in an experiment in which some units will contain prescription departments and others will not.

When the first of these new Walmart Express stores opens this spring in Northwest Arkansas, just in time for the company’s shareholders meeting, they are sure to attract considerable interest due to their potential impact on the marketplace if Walmart is able to grow the concept.

Walmart is also actively working to increase its pharmacy customers from those affected by the Walgreens – Express Scripts dispute. At a recently opened supercenter in Chicago, Walmart aggressively approached shoppers with signing in the pharmacy, on displays near the entrance and every endcap on the food side of the store. Digital signage was also on display, making sure that potential customers were more than welcome.