Supermarket pharmacies lead the field in customer satisfaction

This year, supermarkets led all other brick-and-mortar retailers in pharmacy customer satisfaction, according to the J.D. Power 2023 U.S. Pharmacy Study.

The 15th annual survey, released Thursday, polled 12,396 customers who filled or refilled a prescription in the previous 12 months. To assess pharmacy customer satisfaction, J.D. Power examined areas such as prescription ordering and filling, cost competitiveness, pharmacists, non-pharmacist staff, prescription pickup, the store and prescription delivery at chain drug, supermarket, mass merchant and mail-order pharmacies and rated them on a 1,000-point scale.

For the third consecutive straight year, H-E-B finished No. 1 in the supermarket category, with a pharmacy customer satisfaction score of 760. Yet the Texas grocer’s mark represented the fourth-highest score in the study, with independent drugstore network Good Neighbor Pharmacy (part of AmerisourceBergen) recorded the top overall score at 793. Rounding out the top five scores for brick-and-mortar pharmacy retailers were Sam’s Club (788), McKesson independent drugstore network Health Mart (770) and Costco Wholesale (755).

Source: J.D. Power 2023 U.S. Pharmacy Study

J.D. Power’s 2023 study showed supermarkets toppling mass retailers as the segment with the highest satisfaction rating. Grocery stores posted an average segment score of 704, just above mass merchants at 702 and well above the ratings for chain drug stores (659) and mail order (684).

Also making the top 10 in customer satisfaction for brick-and-mortar pharmacies were Wegmans Foods Markets (753), Publix Super Markets (744), Walmart Neighborhood Market (731), Winn-Dixie (720) and Albertsons Cos. (714).

As in last year’s J.D. Power study, supermarket chains represented five of the top 10 brick-and-mortar players. Other grocery store banners rated this year by J.D. Power were Stop & Shop (704), ShopRite (698), Fry’s (695), Safeway (679), Giant Eagle (677), Kroger (677), King Soopers (669) and Hy-Vee (665).

The nation’s two largest drug store chains scored below their segment’s average, with CVS Pharmacy at 651 and Walgreens at 643. Rite Aid garnered an above-average score at 680 but came in behind Good Neighbor and Health Mart in the chain drug category.

J.D. Power 2023 US Pharmacy Study-mass merchants

Walmart, the third-largest U.S. pharmacy retailer, again received a below-average score (675) in the mass merchant pharmacy category, but its Sam’s Club subsidiary led the segment and bested Costco and CVS Pharmacy inside Target (698).

Kaiser Permanente Pharmacy came in first in the mail-order segment with a score of 748, followed by Amazon’s PillPack (709), Cigna’s Express Scripts Pharmacy (699), CenterWell (697), Walmart Pharmacy Mail Services (675), CVS Caremark (664), UnitedHealth’s OptumRx (659) and Walgreens Boots Alliance’s AllianceRx Walgreens Prime (657).

Troy, Michigan-based consumer and brand market researcher J.D. Power said the 2023 U.S. Pharmacy Study shows a six-point rise in overall customer satisfaction for brick-and-mortar pharmacies, in part for delivering personalized attention.

“As pharmacies continue to take on a more significant role in health care delivery and ongoing care management, the pharmacist has become a critical link in the healthcare continuum,” Christopher Lis, managing director of global health care intelligence at J.D. Power, said in a statement. “Customers are rewarding pharmacies that deliver personalized service, including interactions where communications occur on a first-name basis and when the pharmacist is available to answer questions.

J.D. Power 2023 US Pharmacy Study-drug chains

“These elements of personalized service are moments of truth to help brick-and-mortar pharmacies forge meaningful connections with customers,” Lis noted. “Mail-order pharmacies, by contrast, are less likely to have these personal connections and, in turn, are seeing declines in customer loyalty.”

Overall, pharmacy customers satisfaction is 102 points higher among patients who reported knowing their pharmacist by name and 93 points higher among those knowing pharmacy staff or technicians by name, J.D. Power’s study revealed.

Interest in receiving health services at the pharmacy beyond prescription drugs also remains high. Of brick-and-mortar pharmacy customers surveyed, 83% of indicate an interest in receiving health and wellness services at their pharmacy, up three percentage points from 2022. Top services named included immunizations or flu shots (50%), health screenings (46%) and COVID-19 testing (42%).

Higher digital engagement among brick-and-mortar pharmacies also marked this year’s study, J.D. Power said. In 2023, 81% of customers said they rely on digital platforms to interact with their pharmacy, up from 76% last year. Among mail-order customers, 89% now rely on digital technology to interact with their pharmacy, up from 84% in 2022. Top digital channels used by these customers were pharmacy websites (59%), mobile apps (34%) and text messages (29%).

Still, the mail-order channel is seeing loyalty tail off. Overall satisfaction in the segment rose nine points this year, but about 18% of mail-order customers said they definitely or probably will switch pharmacies in the next 12 months, up from 14% in 2022, J.D. Power’s survey found. Chief reasons for doing so included employer insurance changes (31%), medication being too expensive (24%) and a desire for more flexible pickup options (21%).