Pharmacy chains are having a retail media moment.

Over the last few years, drugstore chains like Walgreens and CVS Health have spruced up their retail media offerings with self-serve ads, advancements in closed loop measurements, and added in-store features to make the case for being easy to use and competitive retail media destinations for advertisers.

Pharmacies are worthwhile contenders within this space for a number of reasons. Retailers like Walgreens and CVS are sitting on high-quality, first-party data because of their valuable loyalty programs.

Drugstores typically see high-frequency shoppers and payment transactions, and a high percentage of those transactions are linked to their loyalty programs, making their first-party data more sophisticated. Plus, pharmacies sell products that overlap with popular advertiser categories like CPGs.

“Where the market is evolving is finally playing to [pharmacies’] strengths,” Andrew Lipsman, independent analyst at Media, Ads + Commerce, told Retail Brew. “Pharmacy retail media networks are… ready for prime time.”

Keep reading here.—VC

Walgreens is set to lay off 256 employees in its latest move to cut costs in a year that’s seen the retail pharmacy giant’s shares plummet 63%, company spokesperson Fraser Engerman confirmed in an email to Healthcare Brew.

The move comes just more than two weeks after Walgreens reported a $3 billion loss in its Q4 earnings—bringing the total year’s net loss to $8.6 billion, a 180% increase compared to 2023—and executives announced plans to close 1,200 stores over the next three years.

“While decisions like these are always difficult, we believe this action is necessary to position us to rapidly respond to the changing external environment so we can best serve the millions of patients and customers who depend on us every day for their healthcare needs,” Engerman said in the email.

He added that the layoffs will allow Walgreens to further focus on its core retail pharmacy business.

Keep reading here on Healthcare Brew.—MA

Some of the biggest consumer brands are reporting lingering softness in customer demand, from slow restaurant traffic to lagging sales in certain products.

To be clear, the latest indicators show a strong overall economy. US GDP grew 2.8% YoY in the third quarter, the unemployment rate was “essentially unchanged” at 4.1% in October, and a key inflation indicator showed further cooling in September, at 2.1% YoY compared to 2.3% in August, according to federal sources.

That doesn’t mean things are hunky-dory everywhere. CFO Brew reviewed recent quarterly results for companies that make popular consumer products and major restaurant chains. They reported either slow demand or continued need to focus on product pricing for cash-strapped buyers.

Keep reading here on CFO Brew.—AZ

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