Canada’s Shoppers Drug Mart Tests Grocery Sales

More channel blurring as drugstore chain pilots sale of fresh food, aiming to be a one-stop shop.

February 19, 2015

BRAMPTON, Ontario — Ontario’s Shoppers Drug Mart, which was acquired by grocer Loblaw nearly a year ago, is testing the sale of fresh foods in select locations, according to a recent article in Chain Store Age.

The drugstore plans to take advantage of its parent company’s grocery expertise with a pilot program to sell fresh food, including produce and meat, in six locations. While it has not been publicized, Chain Store Age reports that the pilot began last September, in an effort to position Shoppers Drug Mart as a convenient one-stop shopping destination. “In fact, according to reports, the pharmacy retailer is not banking on providing consumers with discounted prices but rather convenience,” writes the publication.

Channel blurring is far from a new phenomenon in Canada, or even for Shopper’s Drug Mart, as NACS Magazine described in “Blurring Across the Border” in April 2011. According to the article, even four years ago, channel blurring was occurring at an enormous rate. The expanded presence of dollar stores, combined with discount and drugstore chains moving to 24-hour operations, significantly cut into a major differentiator for convenience stores. In order to compete, convenience chains like Mac’s beefed up foodservice offers and began offering in-store seating, premium coffee and wi-fi, among other features.

According to the NACS Magazine feature, convenience has always been a cornerstone of the Shoppers Drug Mart business, with a focus on new products and services to add to that convenience factor for customers of the drugstore chain. Previously, the company added Canada Post centers, photo processing kiosks among other offerings geared toward making it a one-stop shopping destination.

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