Listening to the consumer, reinventing the store

Rite Aid has its merchandising strategy down to a fine science. Even as the merchant team reporting to Tony Montini, Rite Aid EVP of merchandising, delivers a standardized shopping experience to Rite Aid customers, the company’s merchants are constantly experimenting with new ideas that help differentiate that shopping experience from the store across the street.

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“It’s a team effort,” Montini told Drug Store News. “My merchant team doesn’t work in a silo. They understand that there are certain aspects of the business that take priority, and they understand our vision for where we’re trying to go long term. And they all support it.”



Montini practices a sort of retail plasticity — its Wellness store concept is constantly evolving to meet the ever-changing needs of today’s consumer, as opposed to yesterday’s consumer. “Our stores are like retail labs,” Montini said. “They’re not prototype stores. A supplier partner brings us an idea, then we look at how we can merchandise and present it,” he said.



“What we’re trying to do more than anything is listen to the consumer,” Montini said. “The consumer today is hungry for content, hungry for help in what they’re looking for.” Rite Aid’s supplier partners feed much of that consumer insight, Montini told DSN. “We think that’s extremely important,” he noted. “We listen to those consumer insights and develop our responses from there.”



Rite Aid has cultivated a reputation around its willingness to partner with suppliers on new merchandising ideas, and the speed with which those ideas are put into action.



There are a number of examples where Rite Aid helps streamline the shopping experience by providing fast access to information. Most recently, Rite Aid began testing an interactive vitamins, minerals and supplements kiosk in about 15 stores to help customers navigate what is traditionally a difficult area to shop. It’s yet another example of how Rite Aid is leveraging technology in the front-end.



Rite Aid also continues to experiment with ways to provide a higher level of service, even in specific categories. In 10 stores, Rite Aid is piloting a new front-end store associate role, the vitamin advisor. Like Rite Aid’s Wellness Ambassadors and beauty advisors, these associates can help customers locate products and, when necessary, facilitate a consultation with one of Rite Aid’s pharmacists.



One strong example of how Rite Aid is partnering with vendors to improve the shopping experience is its work with Johnson & Johnson around the “SEAL” program. Introduced in 2014, SEAL, which stands for “Simplify, Educate At Last,” provides special signage to both help customers locate the product they are looking for and educate them on which item is right for their needs.



The work around SEAL helped J&J earn Rite Aid’s coveted “Innovation Spirit” award, which the company gives to supplier partners that reflect Rite Aid’s focus on promoting innovative ideas and recognizing the collaborative efforts of its supplier partners and category management teams.



Another way the company is working to bring differentiation to its stores is through exclusive products that can only be found at Rite Aid. One example is the active skin repair line Receutics, which the company launched in February. Receutics, which sought to identify an unmet consumer need, was developed based on internal research Rite Aid conducted with a very knowledgeable group of professionals — its own pharmacists. Customers were telling its pharmacists that they were looking for skin care solutions that were effective and affordable. The line, which was in development for more than a year, including extensive testing and clinical studies, includes 10 products ranging from acne care to anti-aging to sun care and more.



For Montini and his team, continued success will demand a commitment to constant experimentation: Test. Measure. Implement. Repeat.



“It’s a different way to go to market,” Montini said. “Most retailers have a store prototype, and we don’t. Every week, Rite Aid is remodeling between 10 and 15 stores. And every week, Rite Aid’s team of merchants sits down and tweaks the format. We’re trying it. We’re testing it.”



“We take our learnings and, in the next group of stores, we implement those ideas,” Montini said. “At the same time, we’re data driven and we’re fact based. And if things look good, we’ll move fast to expand the idea to additional stores.”



It’s helping Rite Aid create a differentiated shopping experience for the consumer. It’s also what keeps Rite Aid’s merchant team hungry for the next group of remodels. “It’s a challenge to develop new ideas and create solutions for our customers,” he said, “But to us, it’s also a lot of fun.”