WalMart Vs. Shoppers Drug Mart FIGHT!

This report is a comparison of the products and services between a supermarket pharmacy department and a drug store chain. In this report, Shoppers Drug Mart and Wal-Mart will be used. Grading criteria used will illustrate the advantages and disadvantages of each store. These two different stores will be graded using the following criteria: price, selection (number of products), availability (number of products on shelf), store brands (yes/no), convenience (drive time / distance / hours of operation), and service (number of parking spaces / accessibility spaces / knowledge of products).

How research was done

Two locations were selected to be used as sample stores: Shoppers Drug Mart - 265 Port Union Rd, Scarborough and Wal-Mart - 799 Milner Ave, Scarborough. Research was carried out by selecting products that both Wal-Mart and Shoppers carry, and comparing prices by recording them in chart form. Since counting each individual product would have consumed large amounts of time, an approximate value was used for the amount of each type of product was currently shelved. Driving time was calculated by using an average of 10 drive times to each store, obeying road speed limits. Distance was figured out by using the vehicle's trip odometer. Lastly, parking spaces were counted and recorded, one by one for each store. One question was asked to one employee in the pharmacy section of each store. The question was: "Which pain reliever works best for headaches?"

Ranking System

Points were given based importance of criteria, and how much of a certain criterion each store had. For example: Wal-mart has 750 parking spaces while Shoppers Drug Mart has 240. One point was given for up to and including every 250 parking spaces. Wal-Mart would receive 3, and Shoppers 1.

In order of importance, the following was used as the grading criteria:

1. Knowledge of products
2. Distance
3. Drive time
4. Price
5. Selection
6. Availability
7. Hours of operation
8. Number of parking spaces
9. Number of Wheelchair accessible space
10. Store brands

Knowledge of Products

Which pain reliever is best for headaches?

Wal-Mart + 10- "... it depends on the person really, normally Aspirin works okay."

Shoppers +10 - " Well have you tried Motrin IB? Either it or Aspirin are good."

Both answers show some knowledge of products.

Distance

Wal-Mart +2 - 8.4 km (from house)

Shoppers + 10 - 1.7 km (from house)

The closer the store is to the home, the more convenient it is to shop.

10 points for < 2 km away, 2 points for < 10 km away.

Drive Time

Wal-Mart +5 - 13.37 minutes (from house)

Shoppers +10 - 3.12 minutes (from house)

Time is money, the less time it takes for the customer to get to the store, the more time the individual has to do other things.

10 points for < 5 minutes, 5 points for < 15 minutes.

Price

Wal-Mart Shoppers Drug Product NamePrice

Fructus Shampoo $2.99 $3.49

Tylenol XStr 100's $8.99 $9.99

Crest Complete $1.99 $2.99

Cold FX $26.99 $28.99

Polysporin $6.19 $6.99

Total $47.15 $52.45

Wal-Mart - < $50.00 +8

Shoppers - < $55.00 +5

Selection / Availability

Wal-Mart Shoppers Drug Product Name

# of products

# inventory on shelf

# of products

# inventory on shelf

ToothPaste 15 3000 19 2100

Shampoo 72 3500 64 840

Cold Remedy 20 1000 28 900

Pain reliever 22 600 26 450

Antiseptic cream 5 100 6 130

Total 134 8200 143 4420

Wal-Mart - Less selection, More stock on shelves +5, +6

Shoppers - More selection, Less stock on shelves +8, +3

Hours of Operation

Wal-Mart:

Shoppers:

M-F: 8AM - 10PM

M-F: 9AM - 10PM

Saturday: 8AM - 10PM

Saturday: 9AM - 9PM

Sunday: 8AM-8PM

Sunday: 10AM - 6PM

Wal-Mart - More hours +4

Shoppers - Less hours +3

Number of parking spaces / Accessible spaces

Wal-Mart:

Shoppers:

Spaces 750 240

Access 16 8

Ratio 0.02130.0333

Wal-Mart - 750 spaces, but only 16 Wheelchair accessible spaces. +3, +1

This amounts to only a small fraction of the spaces available.

Shoppers - Only 240 spaces, but the ratio of accessible spaces is a lot higher. +1, +3

Store Brands

Wal-Mart carries none of its own brands. All of the merchandise is from external suppliers. Shopper's has several products within their brand, sold at each location. Their brand name is "Life". Many medicines / health products are available in the Life brand. Normally store brands are a lot less expensive, therefore this gives a bonus point for Shoppers.

Wal-Mart +0

Shoppers +1

Conclusion

Criteria

Wal-Mart

Shoppers

Knowledge of products 10 10

Distance 2 10

Drive time 5 10

Price 8 5

Selection 5 6

Availability 8 3

Hours of operation 4 3

Number of parking spaces 3 1

Wheelchair accessible spaces 1 3

Store brands 0 1

Total4652

Ranking

1^st - Shoppers Drug Mart

2^nd - Wal-Mart

Using the weighted ranking system, Shoppers Drug Mart clearly is ranked 1^st of the two stores. The main factor in Shoppers winning over Wal-Mart was the distance from my house and the time it takes to drive there. Individuals today, see great importance in getting in and getting out of a store. Most people would like to spend as little time possible shopping for essential living products. Shoppers Drug Mart is located in the middle of several large population communities. Almost anyone can walk to the store. Wal-Mart, on the other hand is located along the 401. Most people it serves cannot walk to the store.

RecommendationDepending on the amount of shopping required, I recommend different stores. For example: If one was going to go shopping for the 5 items listed above, getting them at Wal-Mart would be much more economical. Including tax those items add up to $54.22 at Wal-Mart, and at Shoppers; $60.32. That is a savings of $6.10. I would advise anyone shopping for 5 items or more to make their way to Wal-Mart. If a customer purchases less than 5 items and would like to shop at a neighbourhood store, Shoppers Drug would be a better choice.

All information gathered was from direct, in-store primary research. All ideas, concepts, facts are original.