NEW YORK – Chain drugstores should position themselves for the future by experimenting with paradigm-busting store prototypes that rethink business-as-usual approaches, writes Joseph Bona, president of branded environments for CBX, in Chain Drug Review.

In the column, the retail design veteran likens creative store prototypes to the unimaginable concept cars unveiled every year at major auto shows. “By making a practice of radically rethinking their products, global carmakers have learned to unleash their creativity and position themselves for the future,” Bona observes. “Are chain drug stores doing the same?”

The point is to generate new ideas that could ultimately exert real influence years or decades down the line, regardless of how impractical those ideas might seem today, Bona explains. When it comes to the already lagging front of the store in particular, he writes, the industry might rethink the current, convenience-oriented model by focusing more narrowly on health and wellness in ways that bolster the retailer’s brand-promise.

“Drugstores are all about consumers taking better care of themselves,” Bona writes. “The ‘Drugstore of the Future’ could offer products that reflect a more elevated consciousness.”

For example, in the future, chain drugstore staples like candy, high-sugar drinks, lawn chairs, Styrofoam coolers, low-end electronics and other space-clogging, commoditized products may be downplayed or eliminated altogether. Instead, the prototype could add healthy elements such as a preventive medicine clinic, an organic juice bar, a wide selection of artisanal waters, FitBit-style gizmos and even a pick-up area for farm-to-table produce, Bona writes. The store might also include a small community room for yoga classes, massages and other services.

In turn, shopper rewards programs might include free downloads of articles on nutrition or high-intensity fitness, or a digital recording of a stress-reducing guided meditation.

While “far-out” prototypes rarely go to market in full form, concludes Bona, “they can and do lead to new ideas and incremental changes that, over time, translate into competitive advantages for chain drug retailers in the real world.”