Drugstore.com launching new 'microsites' to drive sales

Drugstore.com is expanding its use of "microsites" to drive sales. The Bellevue online retailer, which already operates beauty.com (makeup) and visiondirect.com (contact lenses), plans to launch a new website soon devoted to "sexual health products," and is contemplating others for pets, men's health, and other product categories.

It's an interesting strategy. These websites are relatively inexpensive to set up and tap into drugstore.com's existing ecommerce and payments platform. Seattle online retail giant Amazon.com has also employed this strategy with its Endless.com shoe website, for example (Amazon owns 14 percent of drugstore.com).

Drugstore.com CEO Dawn Lepore signaled in a May interview with TechFlash that the company was looking to create more microsites. Now company spokeswoman Anne Marshall is confirming plans for the sexual health site and another product site this year, with a potential for 5 to 7 additional sites per year starting in 2010.

Drugstore.com, which had its first profitable quarter in Q4 2008, has shifted away from its original online pharmacy business and now emphasizes sales of non-prescription, over-the-counter products. The company's microsite strategy is part of an effort to extend its market reach. Drugstore also has deals with the Rite Aid chain and pharmacy benefits manager Medco Health Solutions to handle online orders for over-the-counter products.

Amazon's new microsite plans were first reported by Bloomberg.

About Eric Engleman

ERIC ENGLEMAN is senior technology staff writer for TechFlash and the Puget Sound Business Journal, covering online retail giant Amazon.com. Engleman tracks Amazon's increasingly complex business, spanning ecommerce, Kindle, cloud computing, and more. He's been covering technology and other industries for the Business Journal since 2003.

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