In the dark, long-ago days of retail, stores closed early on Christmas Eve and hard-core last-minute shoppers had little choice but to grab a Whitman's Sampler at the corner drugstore.
A fine present, that Whitman's Sampler, and a traditional one. The company started before the Civil War -- in 1842 -- and the Sampler, introduced in 1912, performs an enormous public service. What chocolate lover doesn't cherish the little map inside, warning you off the coconut or vanilla creams, urging you onward to the chocolate whip and truffle centers where you can spend your calories most profitably?
These days, forgetful and procrastinating shoppers still have the Sampler to rescue them, but drugstores (and supermarkets along with them) have changed.
They have entered a realm far beyond a gift box of candy.
Last week, Rite Aid was advertising Cabbage Patch Kids, Care Bears, Holiday Barbie, Bratz paraphernalia and games such as PlayStation 2, Game Boy Advance and Xbox. You could buy a telephone, boom box, mixer, deep fryer, 16-piece set of dishes and card table and chairs. There was a sale on hangers and another on Tylenol.
CVS was offering an electric carving knife, mini food chopper, gumball machine, game table, foot spa, heated neck rest, spice rack, a rather wide assortment of teddy bears and various gifts that were already wrapped, including a chess set and a corkscrew.
Drugstores, says Jody Cook, a spokesman for Rite Aid, have indeed changed. They have been listening to the customer who wants to cut down on the to-and-fro of shopping. "Now you can get aspirin or cold medicine and a gift at the same time," she says.
Supermarkets are doing likewise. Last week, one chain was advertising a 20-inch flat-screen combination television and DVD for $197.77, a digital camera for $88.88 and Philadelphia cream cheese for 99 cents.
Karen Brown, senior vice president of the Washington-based Food Marketing Institute, says supermarkets began expanding their merchandise as consumer demand and retail interest converged.
"Consumers want to get as much as they can in one place," Brown says, "and retailers in general want to capture as many dollars as they can."
