A drugstore next to MEGA Don Quijote
There is a drugstore right next to a MEGA Don Quijote that I often visit.
One day, a question occurred to me.
“How do these two stores compete when they are so close to each other?”
For readers outside Japan, a little explanation may help.
In Japan, a “drugstore” is much more than a place to buy medicine.
Many Japanese drugstores also sell cosmetics, household products, drinks, snacks and groceries.
MEGA Don Quijote also sells many of these things.
So the two stores have a surprising amount of overlap.
I previously wrote about the wide variety of products found in Japanese drugstores.
This time, I want to look at a different question:
Why do we use two stores that sell so many of the same things?
Price is not the only reason we choose a store
At first, I thought price must be the main battleground.
But then I started observing my own shopping habits.
I use both stores.
At the drugstore, I can usually find what I need relatively quickly.
If I know that I just need detergent and sunscreen, I do not necessarily want to spend time walking around a huge store.
If the checkout is quiet, I can be in and out quickly.
And when it comes to medicine, depending on the product and the store, I may also be able to ask a pharmacist or another qualified member of staff for advice.
Sometimes, what I want most is simply this:
Find what I need, buy it and go home.
For that kind of shopping, a drugstore can be very convenient.
At MEGA Don Quijote, I sometimes want to explore
My mood is a little different when I enter MEGA Don Quijote.
Of course, I may have something specific to buy.
But sometimes I find myself thinking:
“I wonder what interesting things they have today?”
There are so many products to look at, including things I did not expect to find.
At the store I visit, I also see families shopping together.
For some customers, browsing the store itself seems to be part of the experience.
Some days, I want to finish my shopping quickly.
Other days, I want to look around and discover something unexpected.
The stores may sell similar products, but my reason for entering them is not always the same.
Does this happen overseas?
That made me wonder about other countries.
In the United States, chains such as CVS and Walgreens sell more than medicines. They also carry drinks, snacks and everyday household items.
At the same time, large retailers such as Walmart and Target sell groceries and household goods, and some locations also include pharmacies.
So there is overlap there, too.
Picking up a prescription and buying a few everyday items at the same time can make a drugstore convenient even when a much larger retailer is nearby.
France is different
France provides an interesting contrast.
The relationship between medicines, pharmacies and pharmacists is more strictly defined than in Japan.
A French “pharmacie” should therefore not be understood as simply the French equivalent of a Japanese drugstore.
In Japan, you may enter a drugstore to buy medicine and leave with snacks, cosmetics, detergent and a drink as well.
Looking at other countries makes the ordinary Japanese drugstore seem rather unusual.
Do stores separate their roles, or do customers do it for them?
My question began with the drugstore next to MEGA Don Quijote:
“How can they compete?”
But observing my own behavior gave me another way to look at it.
I go to the drugstore when I am in a hurry.
I may choose it when I want to ask about medicine.
I go to MEGA Don Quijote when I have time to browse.
I may go there simply because I want to see what I can find.
Of course, these are my own shopping habits. I have not analyzed the sales figures or business strategies of these particular stores.
But the experience made me realize something.
Stores may sell similar products without serving exactly the same purpose for the people who use them.
Price matters.
So does time.
So does finding things easily.
Being able to ask for advice matters, too.
And sometimes, simply enjoying the act of shopping matters.
Perhaps we choose where to shop for many more reasons than we realize.
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