From a marketing POV, and from the standpoint of meeting the stated objective of driving qualified traffic to the site, both of these partnerships have potential to deliver.

From a consumer POV, I am just not convinced that I would continue to return to drugstore.com for this information. So many behaviors are now controlled by the increase in “insurance provider rules” that as consumers, we tend to log on to the insurance provider site first to make certain we abide by the coverage rules first and foremost. For us, that eliminates many options, and forces us to only one option for online RX. Drugstore.com doesn’t get to play a role, regardless of my preferences. That said, they fall off the radar as an information source, since there are great options we have bookmarked and visit regularly.

With many brick and mortar chains going to $4 generic drug pricing, the fact that they offer these drugs today, rather than waiting days for drugs to arrive by mail and that many American consumers are buying drugs through the mail are opting to buy them from Canada, Drugstore.com is in a difficult situation.

Offering consumers information on specialists and facilities is a nice marketing gimmick. Will it impact traffic to their website? That depends on how they weave this new service into their core story. If it is an add-on feature, I doubt it will have much impact. If it is a core offering, and if people trust the quality of information, it could have a positive impact.

These are no downside efforts. I agree with comments that they may not serve the purposes of driving highly qualified traffic to the site and increasing conversion rates. The nature of the healthcare provider system argues that the tie-in may prove to be of limited utility. However: the first statement in the article, that Drugstore.com is “looking to provide consumers with information they need to make informed decisions about their own healthcare”…this has tremendous potential. There is no doubt that the proliferation of healthcare products and options and the expansion of previous “alternative” healthcare remedies has left the consumer without the knowledge to make effective choices. Often, they arrive at the store and discover new options, with claims and ingredients they are completely unfamiliar with. If Drugstore.com truly wants to fulfill the stated goal of informing and empowering their consumer, this could be a very valuable competitive positioning. The current efforts, I believe, neither accomplish this goal, nor do they do it in a manner the consumer will find easy to use. Consider the traffic… Read more »

While working recently with Rite Aid on a project, my team included an online element in our proposal. The Rite Aid folks actually laughed out loud. If you click the “Online Shopping” tab on the Rite Aid home page, you’re connected to Drugstore.com, which some (perhaps many) Rite Aid people find laughable. “We don’t count on sales from Drugstore.com,” one giggled.

Bottom line, Drugstore.com needs allies that are involved and supportive. I applaud their efforts to add content and encourage much more of same. Perhaps a WebMD connection?

Smart folks want unbiased medical advice. Anything supplied by, or associated with, Drugstore.com isn’t likely to be seen as unbiased.

There are so many medical info sites on the internet already. Is the world crying out for another one? Here’s a question: if a retailer has nothing unique to offer, should it spend time and money offering something that’s not special at all? Why bother?