January Retail Ratings Reports: Walmart #1 for HBA and Walgreens #1 for Prescriptions

COLUMBUS, OH--(Marketwire - February 10, 2009) - A third of consumers shop Walmart most often for their health & beauty aid purchases, followed by Target (8.1%) and CVS (7.8%), according to the January Retail Ratings Report from BIGresearch (http://www.bigresearch.com). Although Walgreens was edged out of the top 3 in January for HBA, they top the list in the Prescription Drug category.

Walmart towers over the competition in the Health & Beauty sector, with 33.3% of the overall share. The discount giant's share of preference increased from 29.7% in January 2008, resulting in a Consumer Equity Index™ (CEI)* of 111.81. Second place Target's consumer share increased, with a CEI of 127.14, while third place CVS' CEI of 121.24 shows positive growth for the corner druggist as well. (*CEI measures growth in share of customer preference year-over-year. An index of 100 is flat, while an index of 105 indicates 5% growth.)

With cold and flu season in full force, 17.8% of consumers head to Walgreens most often for their prescription drug purchases. The druggist's consumer share increased over last year (16.1%), resulting in a CEI of 110.33. #2 CVS' share increased (CEI=108.96), as did #3 Walmart's (CEI=127.26) in the Rx category.

"Price continues to be the driving force behind where consumers shop for staples such as medications and shampoos," said Pam Goodfellow, Senior Analyst, BIGresearch. "For instance, we know that practical, budget-bound shoppers who switched their store for prescription drugs in the past year did so primarily based on high prices and the lack of a $4 generic program."

BIGresearch's Retail Ratings Reports (RRR) are available monthly for 12 major merchandise categories. They are developed from BIGresearch's monthly Consumer Intentions & Actions (CIA) Survey of over 8,000 online interviews. For a sample of the January reports for Groceries, HBA and Prescription Drugs (Adults 18+), please click the following link: http://info.bigresearch.com/.

About BIGresearch

BIGresearch is a consumer intelligence firm providing analysis of behavior in areas of products and services, retail, financial services, automotive and media. BIGresearch conducts the monthly Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey (CIA) of 8,000+ respondents and the semi-annual Simultaneous Media Survey (SIMM) of 15,000+ respondents. More information is available at http://www.bigresearch.com.

Contact Information: Contact: Chrissy Wissinger BIGresearch 450 West Wilson Bridge Road Suite 370 Worthington, Ohio 43085 (614) 846-0146