drugstore.com Offers Tips for Developing a ‘Healthy’ Mobile Retail Strategy

As consumers embrace new technologies, especially smartphones, they will likely flock to those retailers who can customize the shopping experience. drugstore.com, a top online health retailer, understands this concept and recently launched four mCommerce sites to give their shoppers the greater flexibility and convenience they seek. David Lonczak, vice president, chief marketing officer for drugstore.com, inc., spoke with PYMNTS.com about why mobile needs to be at the forefront for executives in the health retail space.

PYMNTS.com: For our readers who may not be familiar with drugstore.com, inc., give us a little bit of background about the company. How is the organization structured?

DAVID LONCZAK: drugstore.com, inc. (Nasdaq:DSCM) is a leading online retailer of health, beauty, clinical skincare and vision products. Our portfolio of brands includes: drugstore.com^TM, Beauty.com^TM, SkinStore.com^TM and VisionDirect.com^TM. All provide a convenient, private and informative shopping experience, while offering a wide assortment of more than 55,000 non-prescription products at competitive prices.

drugstore.com, inc. also powers several specialty sites. Through thenaturalstore.com, athisbest.com, sexualwellbeing.com and thevitaminemporium.com, we are able to serve customers who are interested in shopping specific categories online and bring in a wider assortment of products within those categories.

PYMNTS.com: Tell us about mobile initiatives at drugstore.com, including the four new mCommerce sites.

LONCZAK: It’s simple. We want to allow our customers to shop whenever, wherever and however they’d like. And we’re focused on mobile optimized sites ahead of apps.

PYMNTS.com: How was the company’s approach to mobile devised? Why has drugstore.com made mobile a focus point?

LONCZAK: Consumer behavior and adoption of mobile and smartphones has changed. We needed to change with this. It’s our goal to make sure we can serve our customers as they embrace new technology. You may not always see immediate results in the way of sales, but there’s enormous potential to engage a new customer and to really highlight some of our popular site features, like Your List^TM and auto-delivery for repeat consumers and to build our brand awareness.

PYMNTS.com: What are the keys to a successful mCommerce site? A successful app?

LONCZAK: I think simplicity, convenience and innovation are key. If a site or app is easy to use, easy to navigate and makes someone’s life a little bit easier, you might see increased frequency of use. If an app is interesting, fun, different or entertaining, you might engage a broader audience, which helps to build your brand. 

David Lonczak

Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer

David Lonczak, vice president, chief marketing officer for drugstore.com, inc., oversees a team dedicated to building sales and profitability through customer acquisition, retention marketing, promotional planning, site production and creative services for the company’s health and beauty businesses. 

Lonczak has more than 20 years of broad experience in consumer marketing and business development. He was appointed to vice president in 2007. He joined the company in 2005 and previously served as General Manager of Vision and Sr. Director of Pharmacy Marketing. Prior to joining drugstore.com, Lonczak held management, marketing and development positions at Cingular Wireless, AT&T Wireless, Starbucks and Procter & Gamble. 

Lonczak received a Masters in Business Administration from the Simon School of Business at the University of Rochester and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Marketing from the University of Washington.