CVS Health Corp. and Walgreens Boots Alliance hold opposing views on how to best promote customers' health.
To encourage consumers to make health-conscious decisions, CVS plans to move its candy and junk food aisle from the front of the store to the middle and eliminate foods with artificial trans-fats — a year before a regulatory ban on the products takes effect. The retailer, which ended tobacco sales three years ago, also stopped selling sunscreens and tanning oils with SPF under 15, reports The Wall Street Journal.
"We make a distinction between indulgent products and damaging products," Judy Sansone, CVS's chief merchant, told WSJ. "We are giving more healthy-choice options and making sure the customer can find them."
Walgreens takes a more hands-off approach when it comes to consumer health. The retailer keeps its candy near the front of the store and sells cigarettes, but also offers a fresh produce section and a loyalty program that rewards customers for exercising and monitoring their health.
"How do you still give customers the choice and not tell them what is good for them, but help them make healthier choices?" Alex Gourlay, Walgreens Boots' co-operating chief, told WSJ. "There's a level of making things available so it's the customer's choice, and there's a level of incentivizing the customer."
CVS rolled out the new store format in four U.S. locations and hopes to implement the changes in several hundred more stores by 2018.
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