Content about Exclusive News Alert

DENVER — Executives from Coca-Cola and Facebook on Monday morning shared social media best practices and strategies here at NACDS Marketplace 2012.

Social media is about engaging the end-consumer in an interactive dialogue, more than it is about accumulating “likes.”

DENVER — Monday morning kicked off with a bang at NACDS Marketplace, as SymphonyIRI Group’s Navin Gautam took attendees inside the mind of today’s value-conscious shopper.

“Delivering truly shopper-centric value is going to be key, and neither manufacturers nor retailers can do it alone,” Gautam, principal of client services for SymphonyIRI, told attendees during his presentation, titled “Inside the Mind of the Shopper: Understanding the Difference in Motivation by Generations.”

DENVER — “Show me white spaces and create [value] that I don’t already have.” That’s what one retailer polled by the Mack Elevation Forum said regarding what suppliers need to do to score a win. And that may be both the challenge and the opportunity for suppliers today as they prepared for NACDS Marketplace meetings.

(For pictures from the Elevation Forum, click here.)

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT — Good news for retailers and manufacturers of back-to-school supplies! A recent PriceGrabber survey found that nearly half of U.S. shoppers plan to spend more dough this BTS season. But wait, there is a catch: The study also found that they don't plan to spend it all at once.

(THE NEWS: More consumers plan to boost spending during BTS season. For the full story, click here)

CAMP HILL, Pa. — Rite Aid maintained its same-store sales momentum, posting gains across front-end and pharmacy comparable sales for the sixth consecutive quarter: Overall same-store sales were up 2.5%, reflecting a 2.7% increase across the front-end and a 2.4% uptick across pharmacy, for the first quarter ended June 2. Comparable prescriptions filled were up 3%, much of that from prescriptions coming out of the Walgreens-Express Scripts dispute (patients that Rite Aid plans on keeping), but that isn't the only reason Rite Aid's pharmacy business is on the rise.

DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens and Alliance Boots took the first step in creating what will be the first and largest global retail pharmacy player, the two companies announced Tuesday. "This creates an opportunity for us together to create an international expansion platform," Walgreens president and CEO Greg Wasson told reporters and analysts early Tuesday morning.

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT — One area in which independent pharmacies always had the chains beat was in service — that is, if you believe any of those pesky consumer surveys.

(THE NEWS: White paper: Independent pharmacist recommendations drive sharper growth across certain OTCs. For the full story, click here)

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT — If it's good for the goose, then it's good for the gander. That's what was in a recent letter from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services to the National Association of Community Pharmacists. In place of mandatory mail order and competitive bidding in covering diabetic test strips, Ohio Medicaid is opting to employ a manufacturer rebate model, where manufacturers exchange discounted pricing for a listing on Ohio's preferred drug list. Sound familiar?

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT — Quietly but noticeably, two trends have been occurring over the past few years: A move toward "locavorism" and a demand for fresh produce. The fresh produce trend is evident from a Produce Marketing Association consumer survey from 2010 that showed an increased interest in buying fresh fruits and vegetables and shopping at farmer's markets, while such retailers as Bartell Drugs, Meijer and Duane Reade are devoting significant shelf space to locally sourced products.

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT — So research indicates that the majority of consumers who would be eligible for new healthcare coverage under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act have never heard of the state-based healthcare exchanges, and many believe they will need help in understanding healthcare insurance terms and descriptions. Really?

Of course! That's because it's confusing!

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT — The $317 billion problem of medication nonadherence has many sources that often combine and overlap in complex ways. But fears of whether a drug is safe and will work are among of the most frequently cited reasons why patients don't take their drugs as prescribed, or don't take them at all.