by Nissa Hanna
WHAT’S HAPPENING
- Shoppers don’t have to spend time searching for low-cost prescriptions; beta site MedTipster can now do it for them.
- To find affordable meds, any consumer can enter her zip code, prescription and dosage, then the start-up site provides a list of local drugstores that sell the Rx — or its generic equivalent or therapeutic alternative — at a discount.
- MedTipster tracks the price breaks through chain drugstore ads, so many of the shops included in the lists are national retailers. The site hopes to eventually include more independent pharmacies (DetNews.com 3.22.09).
WHAT THIS MEANS TO BUSINESS
- Consumers are sick of paying high prices for medications. As they’ve become increasingly savvy with savings in other retail categories, they’re raising the competitive price bar for pharmaceuticals.
- As cost comparison tools become more ubiquitous, drugstores that can’t compete on low prices alone will need to amp customer service, shopping experience and convenience-oriented efforts to retain and attract customers.
RESOURCES
