Community pharmacy is proud of its retail heritage, and rightly so. But is it something that should be consigned to the past, or an integral part of the sector's future? 

The face of pharmacy has changed hugely over the last decade or so. Not so long ago, customers entering a typical pharmacy would have had to manoeuvre their way between cramped and cluttered shop fixtures in order to reach the medicines counter, which in all likelihood would have been topped with numerous product stands that served as effective camouflage for the dispensary that lurked at the rear of the premises. Nowadays, that same pharmacy is probably bright, light and airy, easy to navigate, and with clearly visible staff, products and signage.

Clearly such progress is to be applauded, particularly as such wholesale changes in appearance have taken place over a relatively short period of time. But one of the consequences and indeed drivers of this transformation has been a move towards professional services and dispensing, and away from the retail side of the business. Given that sales of OTC medicines totalled some £2.45 billion in 2013, a rise of over £52 million on the previous year, is this sensible? Is pharmacy missing a trick?

Andrew Clark, channel controller, pharmacy and dental, at OTC giant GlaxoSmithKline, says: "I get the challenge. Prescription volumes have gone up and up, with the result that pharmacists have had to focus on that increasing workload, particularly as the revenues for that workload have gone down. But while the retail side of the business may only account for around eight to nine per cent of a pharmacy's revenue, around 13 to 14 per cent of that is a pharmacy's profit, which is margin enhancing for the business. In other words, any increase in OTC sales may have a larger impact on the bottom line than the same level of increase in dispensing."

Richard Stephenson, head of retail and operations at Scotland's Right Medicine Pharmacy group, says the importance of the shop floor is unambiguously demonstrated by one of the biggest names in UK pharmacy: "Boots hasn't given up on retail, if anything it seems to be trying to constantly improve its already really good offering."

While some pharmacy owners may have taken the view that this aspect of their business is time-consuming, arduous or simply inconvenient, Richard says: "I think it is coming full circle, and people are realising that pharmacy does need retail."

First impressions count

For retail refuseniks, it is worth remembering that the shop floor is the first thing that people see when they walk into the pharmacy, and neglecting this area can send a message that the rest of the business is equally badly looked after. Richard, who was a finalist in the retail skills category at this year's Training Matters Recognition of Excellence Awards, says the shop floor is something that the supermarkets excel at, because they recognise that their retail space is a powerful marketing tool: getting it right will attract more customers.

Supermarkets work on loss leading products that get people in the door so they will then buy more expensive items which make a profit. Pharmacies can't sell items at a loss, but many people rely on their local pharmacy to stock the basics as a service to the local community. Once you get people in the door, maybe just for a bottle of shampoo, you can then entice them into professional services, such as getting a prescription dispensed or having a flu vaccination.

Much like price, pharmacies can't and shouldn't compete with the retail giants on product choice. Instead, Richard recommends: "Focus on what sells rather than stocking every line in a range, or every new product that comes out. Less can be more."

GSK's Andrew Clark agrees, adding: "It is really important to pick the right categories." He cites skincare as a good example, explaining that the category is growing faster in pharmacy than in grocery, perhaps because pharmacies are capitalising on emollient prescriptions by highlighting guidance that states both wash and cream products should be used and encouraging customers to buy the item that hasn't been prescribed.

Andrew says: "Pharmacy assistants should pick their categories very carefully and make sure they do them really well" for example, by maximising on in-store displays and relevant educational opportunities to drive additional profit. They also need to make sure they have the right products at the right time. At the moment, there are lots of campaigns around telling people to go to their pharmacy if they have a cough or cold, so give more space to these products so it looks like you are an expert in this area, and pull back on nonseasonal categories such as allergy and suncare, which aren't big sellers at this time of year.

Jerome Lemaire, UK marketing director for RB, is of a similar opinion: "Keep up to speed with consumer trends," he says. "You need to understand what customers are looking for in a product and ensure you are stocking them." He adds: "Good in-store promotion and point of sale is very important. Help make the shopping process easy for your customers. Don't hide away products which customers may find embarrassing to hunt for. This will be categories such as sexual health, foot health problems and skin conditions such as acne."

Space for staff

With professional services and dispensing taking up ever more of the pharmacy manager's time, the day-to-day running of the shop floor is often left in the hands of pharmacy staff. This seems a little at odds with the traditional career progression of a pharmacy employee, which often sees individuals physically going backwards in the pharmacy, given that many start as a sales assistant before training up to become first a medicines counter assistant, then a dispensing assistant and ultimately a pharmacy technician.

However, the professional services agenda has "to some extent" reversed this movement and brought experienced and highly skilled pharmacy staff back onto the shop floor. Pharmacists are now so busy with clinical work that administration of minor ailment schemes and roles such as smoking cessation and weight management advisors have been delegated to staff. At the same time, new roles such as health champions have also been created that unequivocally illustrate the significance of the OTC side of pharmacy.

JoAnn Kray, who works at Raymond Hall Pharmacy in Hull, is a case in point. As a pharmacy technician, it would have been easy for her to restrict her work to the dispensary, but when the opportunity arose for her to become a health champion, she grabbed it with both hands. JoAnn states: “I like having a variety of things to do, so doing the training not only meant I could offer more to customers, such as health checks, but also kept the other areas of my work interesting.”

JoAnn not only enjoys the sales side of her job, but is very successful at it, as was proved when she was crowned winner of the retail skills category at this year's TM Awards. She explains: "We do monthly promotions which feature OTC medicines all the time, and we use shelf talkers and wobblers and put posters in the window. We do seasonal promotions and have a shelf near the till that we use as a display to increase impact. Generally, we keep the shelves clean and well stocked so it looks nice, and we try to change the shop around every now and then to keep it interesting for customers and easier for us – for example, by making sure high moving products are kept close to hand."

Attitude and behaviour is as important as merchandising, JoAnn points out. "A lot of our customers are regulars and we have a fantastic rapport with them," she says, "but we always try and give the best advice that we can. We have quite a few people who are addicted to codeine, so I pass them on to the pharmacist to deal with, but we always make sure we are discreet and sympathetic. They are all people at the end of the day nobody is better or worse than anyone else, and we make sure we treat everyone the same."

Careful choices

The extended roles that many pharmacy support staff now take on such as JoAnn working as Raymond Hall Pharmacy's health champion are in line with government health priorities, and rightly so. With so much promotion of healthy lifestyles, it makes sense to have people trained in this specialism who the public can easily access for advice on what they can do to improve their health and keep themselves fit and well.

Jerome says: "Consumers are wanting to feel younger for longer and health is becoming more of a lifestyle issue and not just a medical issue." This has changed pharmacy's offering from "problem and solution" to "prevention and wellness", he explains, adding that this shift will continue as more and more people access health information before seeking advice or product recommendations.

This last point is a good one: pharmacy can rarely compete with grocery on price, but it has the edge when it comes to product recommendations. As is always the case, good product knowledge is key. In the past, training was perhaps limited to the content of a medicines counter assistant course, but now there are a wealth of materials around from formal educational modules to features in trade magazines such as TM. As Andrew says: "Manufacturers do a lot nowadays, so take advantage of the free training on offer."

Ultimately, it is the people in pharmacy, and the skills and knowledge that they can pass on to the public in the form of lifestyle advice, product recommendations and general support that will preserve and even fuel growth in the retail side of their businesses. Andrew states: “There are great products available, and with good offers, services and people, it is a great opportunity to move forward. Pharmacies need to take advantage of it.