Drugstore Focuses on Driving Repeat Purchases
By George Anderson
Drugstore.com’s philosophy is that doing business over the Internet “is about privacy and personalization” and the company’s chief executive says it “works hard at exploiting
those two attributes.”
Kal Raman of Drugstore.com told Internet Retailer, “Everything we do is centered around facilitating replenishment purchases with minimal pain to customers.”
Privacy (or the lack of it) plays a huge role in the pain some consumers experience when shopping in stores, says Raman. “With a bunch of the products we sell, you don’t really
want to buy the product with your neighbor looking over your shoulder. So that is where the web plays a huge role with a company like Drugstore.”
Sales revenues generated by repeat customers are almost four times what they were just four years ago at Drugstore.com, says Raman.
The company has been very successful in developing repeat customers with approximately 70 percent of its business being generated by shoppers returning to make purchases. The
retailer estimates it brings in about 1 million new customers each year.
Moderator’s Comment: What are the keys to driving repeat purchases by consumers whether online or in a store?
Drugstore,com has focused its efforts on two key areas. It has developed a personalization program that makes replenishment easy while offering consumers
suggestions on new or complementary products that match their individual profile.
It has also found, as have many others, that free shipping can drive business. Drugstore,com offers free shipping on orders of $49 or more. [George
Anderson – Moderator]