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Wegmans Claims Top Honors in J.D. Power Pharmacy Rankings
Food retailers earn highest overall marks among various retail formats on national customer satisfaction study. Food retailers earn highest overall marks among various retail formats on the national customer satisfaction study.
Meg Major
October 2, 2018
2 Min Read
Food retailers earn highest overall marks among various retail formats on the national customer satisfaction study.Photograph courtesy of Wegmans
Wegmans has scored another national accolade by being chosen as the Highest in Customer Satisfaction Among Supermarket Pharmacies on J.D. Power 2018 U.S. Pharmacy Study, which also found H-E-B and Publix on the second and third rungs, respectively.
Scoring 906 on a 1,000-point scale, Rochester, N.Y.-based Wegmans received the highest marks in four out of the five factors measured: prescription ordering and filling process, store, non-pharmacist staff and cost competitiveness. Among fellow brick-and-mortar supermarket pharmacies, H-E-B scored 897 points and Publix scored 891.
“Achieving the highest satisfaction results among supermarket pharmacies is a testament to our dedicated and caring pharmacy employees,” said Wegmans SVP of pharmacy John Carlo in a statement. “The results of this study demonstrate how the trusted relationships our people have built and nurtured with our customers truly make a difference.”
Winn-Dixie, ShopRite, Stop & Shop, Kroger, Albertsons, Hy-Vee, Giant Eagle, Giant and Safeway also claimed a spot on J.D. Power’s apples-to-apples ranking of supermarket pharmacies, the results of which were based on responses from 10,749 pharmacy customers who filled prescriptions during the three months prior to the May-June 2018 measuring period.
Important to note is that of all the study’s various pharmacy formats – including chain drugstores, mass merchandisers, grocery and mail order – food retailers scored the highest levels of overall satisfaction at 863.
The availability of in-store health and wellness services and clinics and the timeliness of delivery for mail order pharmacies are among the top factors driving the highest levels of customer satisfaction. “The retail pharmacy business has been in the spotlight ever since Amazon announced in June 2018 that it’s getting into the space,” said Greg Truex, senior director and healthcare practice leader for J.D. Power, in a statement. “Amazon, or any other organization looking to disrupt the $100 billion U.S. mail order pharmacy market, will have their work cut out for them.” Truex also cited the sizable investments made by legacy pharmacy players to deliver superior service.
Other highlights of the 2018 J.D. Power Pharmacy study:
The key driver of overall customer satisfaction among brick-and-mortar pharmacies is the availability of health and wellness services, which are linked with a 66-point improvement in overall satisfaction. Such services, according to J.D. Power, are available in 86% of chain drugstores, 83% of supermarket pharmacies and 75% of mass merchandiser pharmacies.
Pacing as the second most effective driver of overall satisfaction in brick-and-mortar pharmacies is “non-pharmacist staff greeted you in a friendly manner,” which is associated with a 64-point increase in customer satisfaction.
Study Rankings
Good Neighbor Pharmacy earned the highest overall score (903) among brick-and-mortar chain drugstores, paced next by Health Mart (890) and Rite Aid (846).
Sam’s Club was highest overall among brick-and-mortar mass merchandisers, with a score of 892, followed by Costco (860) and CVS/pharmacy inside Target (859).
Humana Pharmacy (885) ranks highest overall in mail order, followed next by Kaiser Permanente Pharmacy (866) and Express Scripts (862).
The full J.D. Power 2018 U.S. Pharmacy Study, now in its 10th year, can be found here.
