Content about Online shopping

WASHINGTON — A survey released Thursday by the National Retail Federation found that nearly one-third of tablet owners will use the device to purchase back-to-school items.

According to NRF’s 2011 Back-to-School and College surveys conducted by BIGresearch, consumers with smartphones and tablets will use their devices to research products, redeem coupons, look up store information and even make purchases.

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT — Purchase frequency in the drug channel is up 6.7%. Sounds good, right? More shoppers buying more often — that's the end-game, isn't it? Except not so fast, because the real question is whether or not higher frequency of purchases actually translates into greater revenue streams. And, given the rocky road that America's now-you-see-it-now-you-don't recovery has traveled of late, more shoppers may in fact be buying more often, but they actually may be spending less. 

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT’S IMPORTANT — Traditional retailers today are marshalling their online resources to complement their brick-and-mortar stores, and retail pharmacies have an opportunity to use websites, social networking, smartphone applications and various combinations thereof to own multichannel customers.

NEW YORK — Rising food prices and shrinking package sizes are a top concern for consumers, according to Deloitte's "2011 Consumer Food and Product Insight Survey."

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Retail Orphan Initiative on Tuesday announced the launch of an online charity locator to match up retailers looking to donate overstocked merchandise with local charities.

NEW YORK — Nearly 80% of consumers plan to offset the burden of rising gas prices by altering their shopping behaviors, according to new research.

The survey, conducted by market information leader TNS, also found that 35% of respondents are removing items from their "typical" grocery list to save money. Other ways consumers are saving money is by purchasing private-label items over national brands (30%) and opting to shop at discount outlets over traditional retail outlets (32%).

BALTIMORE — St. Joseph Aspirin has returned to store shelves with a series of product, packaging and retail enhancements, Ilex Consumer Products Group announced last month.

The new packaging will target baby boomers on a low-dose aspirin regimen, as recommended by doctors, to help lower the risk of heart attack and stroke. The new packaging copy calls out the need for the consumer to engage in an “Aspirin Regimen.”

CHICAGO — Concerns over the health of the economy are far from over, as evidenced by a SymphonyIRI Group survey released Wednesday that found consumers are taking even more steps to save money due to their ongoing financial concerns, including turning to the Internet in search of the best deals.

List making and coupon clipping still are top of mind for consumers as they struggle with high gas prices and question their job stability. Additionally, the survey uncovered that consumers are turning to the Internet to find the best deals, SymphonyIRI said.

DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens is making online shopping more convenient for its customers with its new Web pickup service.

WILTON, Conn. — As more consumers incorporate social media sites and other online shop-assist tools into their daily shopping routines, the concepts defining traditional category management — category schematics and optimized facings and assortments, for example — are fast becoming obsolete.

Drug Store News spoke with Greg Tradup, category manager of perishable, supplies and foodservice at McLane Co., about how chain drug retailers successfully can operate in the growing perishable foods space.

Drug Store News: Why have fresh and frozen food become such an attractive category for chain drug retailers?

LOS ANGELES — Back-to-school shopping likely will take place even later this year than in 2010, as consumers hope to score last-minute deals, the latest forecast from PriceGrabber revealed.

PriceGrabber, a part of Experian, found that 95% of consumers are planning to use some sort of money-saving technique when back-to-school shopping, and they plan to start shopping later in 2011 than they did in 2010.