• Wall Street Journal, Tuesday, August 17, 2010 10:39 AM

Timothy W. Martin, on the other hand, tells us that drug stores are looking for a shot in the arm as prescription sales falter by offering ... shots in the arm. They've added pharmacists who are certified to give flu shots and are heavily promoting the service as the season approaches. (In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, by fiat, is moving up the inoculation season by a month this year to September.)

Walgreen is advertising flu-shot gift cards for $29.99. CVS Caremark is letting its 64-million loyalty-card members know that they can book an appointment by computer, phone or in-person. And Rite Aid has tripled the number of pharmacists who can administer the shots.

Flu shots offer stores "a chance to highlight the improved product assortment," William Blair retail analyst Mark Miller tells Martin. "You come in and get a flu shot and see that [the store] is de-cluttered, or maybe you see beer or wine in the store." Flu shots also carry a hefty margin, he says: 30% to 50%. But they can't be returned, so there's a great incentive to move them.

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