ugstores increased and pharmacists took a more service-oriented role when dispensing prescriptions (Encyclopedia of American Industry).Modern DrugstoresThe early drugstore tended to be a small store, from 1,000 to 2,000 square feet, located near grocery stores and other high-traffic areas. The bulk of the stores’ sales were from pharmacy items. Many of these small stores had a variety of “sundries and notions” available in the front of the store, where shoppers could browse while waiting for their prescription to be filled. The addition of the soda fountain came about early on when bottled soda water, and charged water were originally considered to be a health items (Walgreen’s.com ). Up until the advent of “fast food” restaurants in the late 50’s and early 60’s, the soda fountains were significant generators of revenue, expanding their offerings to meals as well as beverages.Current Organization and StructureCompetitive forces caused the drugstore industry to vary their store formats in order to differentiate themselves from competitors and strengthen their image as health care providers. This has resulted in the emergence of five main store formats: independents, chain drugstores, mass merchandisers, supermarkets, and mail order. A decline in use of conventional drugstores began as early as the late eighties as other competitors, especially the supermarket drugstore, were developed. In 1988, 69 percent of prescription purchases were made in conventional drugstores. This dropped to 57 percent in 1990. In 1992, sales of over-the-counter (OTC) medications were $9.45 billion, or 16.8 percent of drugstore sales. By 1995, sales of OTCs were only 13.8 percent of sales at drugstores, due to increased competition from discount retailers and supermarkets. In 1994, there were 53,216 drugstores in the five categories. Of these, 24,862 (46%) were independently owned, 17,270 (32%) were cha...
