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Walmart CEO says Ozempic drug could be impacting grocery sales
kshama2001
Posts: 28,052 Member
in Debate Club
Inspired by this comment and response, I looked up the story:
https://www.supermarketnews.com/nonfood-pharmacy/walmart-ceo-says-ozempic-drug-could-be-impacting-grocery-sales
...Walmart U.S. chief executive John Furner claims that the company has seen “a slight change” in food purchasing habits of people taking Ozempic and other weight loss drugs as compared to those who aren’t.
“We definitely do see a slight change compared to the total population, we do see a slight pullback in overall basket,” said Walmart CEO John Furner in an interview Wednesday. “Just less units, slightly less calories.”
...In its September report, Morgan Stanley said that if the drug does continue to rise, consumption of baked goods and salty snacks could fall 3% — or even more if the new eating habits of the people using the treatments extend to their broader households and extended circles.
That puts CPG companies like Hershey, Mondelez, PepsiCo, General Mills, and Kellogg’s successor Kellanova at risk. Additionally, Morgan Stanley said the popularity of the drugs would likely have a stronger impact on grocery stores, while big box markets like Walmart and Target that sell “many product categories along with food will be better insulated.”
KerryBSoCal wrote: »Greetings from the peanut gallery. I’ve enjoyed reading all the descriptive comments from such articulate people. I am curious to know your thoughts about Walmart’s recent comments regarding their dilemma about future grocery shopping habits due to the new weight loss medications. They foresee, alas, slimmed down shoppers wanting wholesome foods. The nerve of them!
KerryBSoCal wrote: »Greetings from the peanut gallery. I’ve enjoyed reading all the descriptive comments from such articulate people. I am curious to know your thoughts about Walmart’s recent comments regarding their dilemma about future grocery shopping habits due to the new weight loss medications. They foresee, alas, slimmed down shoppers wanting wholesome foods. The nerve of them!
That's what they do: Use data to see what's selling to whom, then they adapt accordingly. Sellers adapt to demand, not just attempt to shape it.
I'd point out some context on this (emphasis mine):Source: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/walmart-says-users-weight-loss-173541499.html (via NBC).The retail giant is comparing shoppers who pick up a prescription for those medications at its pharmacies to shoppers who are otherwise similar but aren't filling those scripts at Walmart. Using anonymized data, it's looking for patterns in the spending of those groups, and it says the first group is buying less food.
Doug McMillon, CEO of Walmart, Inc., said in August that the growing popularity of the drugs was helping its sales.
In other words, either more people are shopping for other stuff at Walmart because they go there to get their GLP-1 drugs at a price point they prefer, or the profits from those drug sales (or other sales) offset the small drop in food revenue.
Bloomberg and Fortune - mainstream business reporting sites - say similar things about the overall picture, and point to the sales of GLP-1 drugs as the offsetting factor.
https://www.supermarketnews.com/nonfood-pharmacy/walmart-ceo-says-ozempic-drug-could-be-impacting-grocery-sales
...Walmart U.S. chief executive John Furner claims that the company has seen “a slight change” in food purchasing habits of people taking Ozempic and other weight loss drugs as compared to those who aren’t.
“We definitely do see a slight change compared to the total population, we do see a slight pullback in overall basket,” said Walmart CEO John Furner in an interview Wednesday. “Just less units, slightly less calories.”
...In its September report, Morgan Stanley said that if the drug does continue to rise, consumption of baked goods and salty snacks could fall 3% — or even more if the new eating habits of the people using the treatments extend to their broader households and extended circles.
That puts CPG companies like Hershey, Mondelez, PepsiCo, General Mills, and Kellogg’s successor Kellanova at risk. Additionally, Morgan Stanley said the popularity of the drugs would likely have a stronger impact on grocery stores, while big box markets like Walmart and Target that sell “many product categories along with food will be better insulated.”
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Here's the original Bloomberg story, for which I had to register to get. (I thought the Supermarket News article was more interesting.)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-10-04/walmart-says-ozempic-weight-loss-drugs-causing-slight-pullback-by-shoppers2 -
I think we've long known that it would cause a major ****show for the American food supply chain and grocers if people actually decided to eat healthy.4
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Companies like Nestle which makes Boost protein drinks are crying all the way to the bank.0
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These CEO's and other don't give a crap about people's health. It's just about the profit and any legal way to get it even if it can directly affect people's health. Screw them and their multibillion profits.
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They're making more money on the Ozempic and other GLP-1 one drugs (as is noted in the spoiler), but slightly less on groceries among those buying the GLP-1 drugs from them. They'll figure out how to target-market new clothes to those people on the assumption they're getting thinner, probably.
People's buying habits change all the time. Stores and product marketers adapt. Anything we vote with our dollars that we want, they'll compete to sell to us.
Personally, I don't want them to act like my mommy or daddy, as if they know what's best for me. I want them to sell me the things I want to buy, conveniently and affordably. If what I want is unhealthy, IMO that's on me.
Do they try to manipulate? Sure.
My experiences in MBA school marketing classes was that the actual supposedly nefarious idea is to sell us the things we really, deeply want, dressed up as the things we think we ought to want. That's how we get to "heart healthy" cookies and other marketing weirdness. Figuring out those deep desires is part of the game . . . a really important part.
In some ways, I think my attitude is more cynical than the belief that they are out to get us, just for profit. That seems simplistic to me. Others' mileage varies.2 -
This seems like a HIPAA violation. They're sharing people's private medical information that they know from their pharmacy (health care provider) arm with their grocery arm.0
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lynn_glenmont wrote: »This seems like a HIPAA violation. They're sharing people's private medical information that they know from their pharmacy (health care provider) arm with their grocery arm.
A HIPPA violation would involve releasing information identifiable enough that another person could reasonably figure out who they're talking about. Like it or not, pharmacies are allowed to use and discuss their patients Metadata as long as they don't give out their names, phone numbers, addresses, or other personally identifiable information.4 -
Yep. Hospitals and med facilities can report stats as long as people names aren't identified. They can even state age ranges.sollyn23l2 wrote: »lynn_glenmont wrote: »This seems like a HIPAA violation. They're sharing people's private medical information that they know from their pharmacy (health care provider) arm with their grocery arm.
A HIPPA violation would involve releasing information identifiable enough that another person could reasonably figure out who they're talking about. Like it or not, pharmacies are allowed to use and discuss their patients Metadata as long as they don't give out their names, phone numbers, addresses, or other personally identifiable information.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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I don't think we need to have any charity fund-raisers for the likes of Hershey, Mondelez, PepsiCo, General Mills, and Kellogg’s successor Kellanova.
I didn't read the article, but saying these companies are, "at risk," seems awfully hyperbolic.
Pivot.
That's what humans do.3 -
Yep. Hospitals and med facilities can report stats as long as people names aren't identified. They can even state age ranges.sollyn23l2 wrote: »lynn_glenmont wrote: »This seems like a HIPAA violation. They're sharing people's private medical information that they know from their pharmacy (health care provider) arm with their grocery arm.
A HIPPA violation would involve releasing information identifiable enough that another person could reasonably figure out who they're talking about. Like it or not, pharmacies are allowed to use and discuss their patients Metadata as long as they don't give out their names, phone numbers, addresses, or other personally identifiable information.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
Kind of.
IMU as someone who got educated to be involved in my employer's compliance project: It's also impermissible to release so much statistical or demographic info that a person becomes identifiable. Something like "A 41 year old pregnant Hmong resident of Kalkaska, MI" would be no bueno for release, even embedded in a dataset with lots of other data.
HIPAA doesn't forbid all the things most people think it does, and doesn't allow some others.2 -
They would have to connect patient-identifying information to the Rx info to be able to match it with the grocery store customer account.0
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lynn_glenmont wrote: »They would have to connect patient-identifying information to the Rx info to be able to match it with the grocery store customer account.
They're allowed to do that with anonymized data, within the same organization, IMU. You don't have to match on the grocery side; the grocery data can be shared with the pharmacy analytics people . . . and I'm sure there are pharmacy analytics people.
We wouldn't want there to be no pharmacy analytics people, for reasons like compliance with scheduled substance laws among other reasons.1 -
This whole thing takes me back to one of my sugar addiction arguments. Big food companies, grocers, health insurers, government, and pharmaceutical companies are the Clash Of The Titans. It's a tactical war using Human Nature against...humans.
If these drugs keep increasing their sharehold it's going to change a lot of behaviors, and bankrolls.
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If AI replaces pharmacists, who knows what info they would release. 😁0
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KerryBSoCal wrote: »If AI replaces pharmacists, who knows what info they would release. 😁
Most likely none it's not supposed to. AI follows the rules that are programmed into it... which in this case would be HIPPA. I'd trust AI with my information over a person any day. AI has no reason to misuse it.3 -
sollyn23l2 wrote: »KerryBSoCal wrote: »If AI replaces pharmacists, who knows what info they would release. 😁
Most likely none it's not supposed to. AI follows the rules that are programmed into it... which in this case would be HIPPA. I'd trust AI with my information over a person any day. AI has no reason to misuse it.
If AI can "hallucinate" facts, I don't think we should be confident that it wouldn't "hallucinate" what HIPAA rules are.1 -
lynn_glenmont wrote: »sollyn23l2 wrote: »KerryBSoCal wrote: »If AI replaces pharmacists, who knows what info they would release. 😁
Most likely none it's not supposed to. AI follows the rules that are programmed into it... which in this case would be HIPPA. I'd trust AI with my information over a person any day. AI has no reason to misuse it.
If AI can "hallucinate" facts, I don't think we should be confident that it wouldn't "hallucinate" what HIPAA rules are.
People sure do, that's for sure.0 -
sollyn23l2 wrote: »lynn_glenmont wrote: »sollyn23l2 wrote: »KerryBSoCal wrote: »If AI replaces pharmacists, who knows what info they would release. 😁
Most likely none it's not supposed to. AI follows the rules that are programmed into it... which in this case would be HIPPA. I'd trust AI with my information over a person any day. AI has no reason to misuse it.
If AI can "hallucinate" facts, I don't think we should be confident that it wouldn't "hallucinate" what HIPAA rules are.
People sure do, that's for sure.
Bless your heart.1
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