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The use of self-serve checkouts continues to grow at an astronomical rate. Last year consumer spending at sel

According to USFDA, a combination product is one composed of any combination of a drug and device; biological product and device; drug and biological product

f-serve checkouts was up 35% over 2004.

When the concept of self-serve checkouts was first developed, retaile

; or drug, device, and biological product and fixed dose combination would include two or more combinations of drug.

Examples of combination products may in

s saw it as an opportunity to reduce the number of cashiers required to operate a store. All retailers placed

lude drug-coated devices, drugs packaged with delivery devices in medical kits, and drugs and devices packaged separately but intended to be used together.

a big emphasis on the security aspects of having customers ring up their own purchases. However the biggest

here is enormous increase in the number of combination products entering the market in the recent years. Combination products have proven advantages but fixe

mpact to date has been the effect of self-serve checkouts on candy and magazine sales.

According to a study f

d dose combinations are still in the process of convincing regulatory authority on their advantages over the single ingredient formulations.

Combination pro

om IHL Consulting Group, consumers using self-serve checkouts are able to overcome the impulse of buying gum,

ucts have become life saving products for the pharmaceutical companies who doesn’t have many innovative molecules in their product pipeline and have been inc

candy, and magazines at a rate of 45.4% less than at full serve checkouts.

Properly accounting for change<

easingly used in the product life cycle management. Even the companies having product patents are trying to extend their product life cycle through the combi

b>

When change is contemplated it is important to look at all aspects from a strategic point of view. Loss P

nation products and maximize the revenues. But the companies involved in this practice are overlooking that they are burdening the patients both economically

evention Officers played a major role in the deployment of self-serve checkouts while the merchandising staff

and physically. They need to rightly judge the benefits of the combination products and they have to even look at the risks involved when combining the produ

considered it a non-issue. Most buyers agreed that the big impact would be in shrinkage when customers failed

ts. Some of the combination products were well accepted by physicians while others suffered. Companies involved in development of combination products are fi

o ring up their purchases, opting to go directly from cart to bag when the supervisor wasn't looking.

Retaile

ding difficulty in defining their combination products and facing various challenges from selecting a combination to marketing it.

Following aspects would a

s were guilty of looking at the full consumer behavior instead of simply looking at it from a defensive aspect

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

Which markets to tap where the combination products can do fairly well?
Which combination prod

.

The use of consumer focus groups, normally an accurate predictor of customer acceptance, failed to pick up

cts are meaningful and rational?
Which therapeutic categories to select?
Which Combinations can address unmet needs of the patients?
Do combin

n the change of impulse sales. In fact retailers were slow to detect the change as it was easy to blame the ca

tions increase the patient compliance?
What would be the developing cost?
How to tackle the risks encountered during combination product developmen

dy sales of low-carb diets and the magazine sales on the Internet.

Today retailers are scrambling to make up

t?

As combination products don't fit into the traditional categories of drugs, medical devices, or biological products, the USFDA is in the process of devel

these lost dollars from impulse sales. Grocers are finding they must appeal to the sense of smell to lure cust

ping new procedures for reviewing their safety, efficacy and quality.

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

mers into a last-minute purchase these checkouts which normally do not have display areas within immediate rea

y and representatives from various regulatory agencies are working out to design the regulatory requirements for manufacture and sale of combination products

h of the customers unloading their carts.

It is a complex problem for retailers as they must make up both the

.

As there is an increasing trend of the combination products companies manufacturing such products should be able to tackle the problems involved in the de

dollar volume and profit margin being lost from impulse sales. Rotisserie chicken, fresh-baked bread, and do

elopment. They need to be wiser in analyzing the market trends and the regulatory requirements.

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

ghnuts are replacing the gum, candy, and magazines that once dominated the impulse check out business.

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tion in industry events and feedback to regulatory authorities would be able to face the challenges and will be successful in developing combination products

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E-Folder - Self-Serve Checkouts Force Retailers To Rethink Merchandising

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