Perhaps baby boomers are not yet old enough. Or perhaps people are taking their doctors' advice to heart about eating bran flakes. Whatever the reason, sales of laxatives have been sluggish for the past couple of years.
Laxatives are a known quantity.
The decline in drugstore sales may be deceptive to some extent, says Paul Kraft, account director at ACNielsen. She also notes that laxative buyers tend to have a high degree of brand loyalty. The main thing is to know your clientele and to buy for them. Talk to them individually, and learn what they want and need. Counselling should include suggested alternatives to laxatives, such as drinking prune juice, increasing fibre intake and exercising more.