$4 prescriptions: right price for tough times

A new research study shows Wal-Mart’s $4 generic drug pricing program enabled the company to gain market share among consumers with household incomes of less than $50,000.

That’s according to the firm BIGresearch, which produces a monthly Retail Ratings report based on an online survey with a sample size of 7,500 participants. When asked which retailer they shopped most often for prescription drugs, 9.2% of those surveyed said Wal-Mart, but when respondents were segmented by income to examine preferences among the sub-$50,000 level the number increased to 12.6%. Walgreens was the leader overall with a 13% preference rating, but was even more popular than Wal-Mart among those earning less than $50,000 as it tallied a 16.6% preference rating among that segment. CVS trailed Wal-Mart in its appeal to lower income consumers with a 12.1% rating, but beat Wal-Mart overall with a 13% rating.

“Wal-Mart pioneered the $4 prescription drug program and forced competitors to respond,” said Pam Goodfellow, senior analyst of BIGresearch. “It's no surprise that their move is paying off among lower income consumers, especially during turbulent economic conditions.”