Scot Meyer

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — For decades, a pharmacy inside a supermarket was an underutilized resource — a draw for some customers, but often not central to the retailer's larger strategy. That view is changing fast. At last week's Future of Commerce conference in Nashville, executives from two of the country's largest grocery chains argued that the supermarket pharmacy is not just a profit center or a foot-traffic driver.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Grocery retailers have something most competitors would kill for: more shopper visits than nearly any other retail channel and some of the highest consumer trust scores in retail. Yet they are steadily losing ground in one of their most lucrative potential categories — health and beauty care — and the people who study the problem say the reasons are hiding in plain sight.