JD Power released its 13th annual U.S. Pharmacy Study. The study interviewed over 13,000 pharmacy patients to determine the changing consumer attitudes about pharmacy. They asked patients what they like best about visiting the pharmacy, and what makes them spend money during their visits.
Read on for select insights from this year’s study, and learn how you can take advantage of these upcoming pharmacy trends.
Insight #1: Patients want health and wellness services
Just over half of all pharmacy patients have used a health and wellness service at their pharmacy in the past year, an upward trend from 2020. And pharmacies that offer these services rate more highly in overall customer satisfaction than those that don’t. Vaccines and routine screenings were the most used healthcare services.
“It was not long ago that the major pharmacy chains, healthcare providers, health plans and consumers were all asking themselves whether or not people would ever feel comfortable receiving treatment in a retail setting,” said James Beem, managing director of healthcare intelligence at JD Power. “While we have been seeing consumer satisfaction with retail health services grow steadily, this year marks a significant turning point in which most customers are now using these services. The fact that this happened during a pandemic should send a clear signal that retail pharmacies are transforming health and wellness services in America.”
When thinking about which health and wellness services to offer, consider your community’s specific health needs and make sure to offer ones with sustainable revenue.
Attractive options include:
- Immunizations
- Point-of-care testing
- Medical screenings
- Health workshops
- Diabetes classes
- Preventive programs
- Smoking cessation
Insight #2: Patients who use health and wellness spend more
The study also found that health and wellness services can drive spending. Patients who use health and wellness services spend an average of $28 during their pharmacy visit, while patients who don’t spend $23.
These patients are also more satisfied with the pharmacy and better brand advocates. Satisfaction was higher by 24 points out of 1,000 and the Net Promoter Score by 10 points for patients who use health and wellness services.
The Net Promoter Score is a way to quantify your customer loyalty and brand advocacy.
Finding out your Net Promoter Score is simple. Just ask your patients how likely they are to recommend your independent pharmacy to a friend on a scale of 0 to 10.
People who give you a 9 or 10 rating are considered promoters. These are the true assets of the business, and they drive your success.
People who rate your pharmacy with a score of 0 through 6 are considered detractors. Not only will they not share good things about your pharmacy, they could even damage your reputation by spreading negative experiences.
To find your Net Promoter Score, take the results from your survey and plug them into this formula:
% of Promoters – % of Detractors = Net Promoter Score
Your Net Promoter Score can be anywhere from -100 to 100, and the higher your score is, the more loyal your patients are.
Insight #3: Mobile apps are increasingly important
Every year, more patients are adopting mobile apps. Just over a quarter of brick-and-mortar patients use their pharmacy’s mobile app. Overall satisfaction with brick-and-mortar mobile apps is 848 out of 1000.
With an app, patients can handle pharmacy transactions like refills or transfers, find information about the pharmacy’s hours and location, learn about any special services offered, request delivery, read up on health news, download coupons to save money, and communicate directly with pharmacy staff.
If you don’t have a mobile app yet, you’re behind the curve. Learn what you need in an app and how to use it to its fullest.
An average consumer spends more than 2 hours using mobile apps every day, so if you can tap into that market, you’ll be able to promote your pharmacy and improve customer satisfaction in a big way. A great mobile app will:
- Be easy to use, with clear instructions
- Have an attractive design with fonts that are easy to read
- Mimic the experience of your desktop and mobile sites
- Send notifications that make patients’ life easier
A Member-Owned Organization Serving Independent Pharmacies
PBA Health is dedicated to helping independent pharmacies reach their full potential on the buy side of their business. The company is a member-owned organization that serves independent pharmacies with group purchasing services, expert contract negotiations, proprietary purchasing tools, distribution services, and more.
An HDA member, PBA Health operates its own NABP-accredited (formerly VAWD) warehouse with more than 6,000 SKUs, including brands, generics, narcotics CII-CV, cold-storage products, and over-the-counter (OTC) products.
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