Customers report that their communication is strong with their pharmacists, but only 51% said their pharmacist was trustworthy.
The overall satisfaction with mail order pharmacies is rising, with a 6-point increase on a 1000-point scale this year, according to the JD Power 2024 US Pharmacy Study. However, community chain drug stores have seen satisfaction decline below the brick-and-mortar category average, including long wait times, lower levels of customer trust in pharmacists, and difficulty in ordering prescriptions.1
Image Credit: Syda Productions - stock.adobe.com
“The critical link that may allow brick-and-mortar pharmacies to keep pace with the rise of mail order and digital pharmacies is the familiarity that customers have with their pharmacist,” said Christopher Lis, managing director of global health care intelligence at JD Power, in a news release. “This is a big differentiator that brick-and-mortar pharmacies need to closely monitor, as 52% of customers are now aware of digital pharmacies, most notably, Amazon Pharmacy.”1
In the study, there were 13,505 pharmacy customers who filled a prescription within the past 12 months through September 2023 and May 2024.1
Additionally, the investigators reported that top-performing brick-and-mortar pharmacies had a decrease of more than 10 points, affected by long-wait times and difficulty ordering prescriptions. Most respondents (89%) reported that pharmacists excel in communication, saying that the pharmacist’s explanation was understood, but 51% said prescriptions were filled quickly and said their pharmacist is trustworthy.1
The report also states that the ease of ordering prescriptions is the top factor of customer satisfaction, and 18% of those using mail-order pharmacies said the pharmacy has a well-designed digital experience. The biggest barriers to adoption of digital pharmacies is confusion on insurance, trustworthiness, and lack of use among the community. Furthermore, approximately 48% of brick-and-mortar customers have not heard of digital pharmacies.1
Among brick-and-mortar chain pharmacies, Good Neighbor Pharmacy continues to rank as number 1 for the eighth consecutive year, scoring 775 of 1000. Good Neighbor Pharmacy ranked 1 across all 7 of the core areas, including the pharmacy meeting customer needs, resolving issues or complaints, getting prescriptions how/when the customer wants, digital channels, and helping to save customers time and money, as well as overall trust in the pharmacist. Health Mart was ranked second, and Rite Aid Pharmacy was ranked third, at 729 points and 650 points, respectively.1,2
“I’d like to extend my sincere congratulations to our Good Neighbor Pharmacy members on receiving this prestigious recognition from JD Power for the eighth consecutive year,” Jenni Zilka, SVP of community & specialty pharmacy and president of Good Neighbor Pharmacy, said in a news release. “This feat reflects our member pharmacies’ unwavering dedication to putting their patients first and delivering exceptional care every day. It is a privilege to stand alongside them as they demonstrate the power of pharmacies as accessible destinations for high-touch, high-quality care, and an honor to say that no one does it better than the Good Neighbor Pharmacy network.”2
Sam’s Club ranked number 1 among brick-and-mortar mass merchandiser pharmacies for the ninth year at 77 points, followed by Costco at 740 points. Publix was ranked highest among supermarket pharmacies at 755, followed by ShopRite at 747 and H-E-B at 745.1
“At Publix, providing premier service is ingrained in our culture,” Kevin Murphy, CEO of Publix, said in a news release. “I’m proud of our pharmacy teams, who are dedicated to delivering the best care possible to our customers.”3
For mail-order pharmacies, PillPack by Amazon Pharmacy ranked the highest with 759 points, followed by Amazon Pharmacy at 727 points and Kaiser Permanente at 726 points.1
“Customers need pharmacies to deliver on convenience, reliability and trust—and mail order and digital pharmacies are working to meet those expectations. As more consumers become aware of digital pharmacies, understand how they work and determine that many accept their insurance, brick-and-mortar stores risk losing market share,” Lis said.1
