Publix, Wegmans Pharmacies Earn Top Scores in J.D. Power Study

The in-store pharmacies at Publix Super Markets and Wegmans Food Markets ranked as having the highest overall customer satisfaction among brick-and-mortar supermarkets, according to the "J.D. Power 2016 U.S. Pharmacy Study."

Both retailers performed particularly well in the areas of in-store operations, nonpharmacist staff, pharmacist and prescription ordering/pickup process. On a 1,000-point scale – with the average overall satisfaction in the supermarket segment being 874 – Lakeland, Fla.-based Publix earned the highest mark among supermarkets, with a score of 912, while Wegmans earned a rating of 891.

“Increasingly, customers are turning two errands into one when, for example, they need to pick up a prescription and get a flu shot,” said Rick Johnson, director of the healthcare practice at Westlake Village, Calif.-based J.D. Power. “Pharmacies that are cognizant of their customers’ needs – and their time – will likely continue to achieve high satisfaction.”

Overall satisfaction with pharmacies where wellness services have been used is nearly 20 points higher than when those services have not been used, he added.

Though mail order and in-person experiences are very different, Johnson said the highest-scoring pharmacies have two things in common: “Great staff and an easy, efficient ordering process are common traits of both types of pharmacy experiences.”

Bentonville, Ark.-based Sam’s Club ranked highest overall among brick-and-mortar mass merchandisers (883), performing particularly well in nonpharmacist staff, pharmacist and prescription ordering/pickup process, followed next by Issaquah, Wash.-based Costco (880). The average overall satisfaction in the mass merchandiser segment was 851.

San Francisco-based Health Mart ranked highest overall among brick-and-mortar chain drug stores (898 on a 1,000-point scale), performing particularly well in the store, nonpharmacist staff; cost competitiveness and pharmacist factors. Good Neighbor Pharmacy, a cooperative of independently owned and operated pharmacies, placed second (896). Average overall satisfaction in the chain drug store segment was 863.

Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente Pharmacy ranked highest overall in mail order (906), performing particularly well in prescription-ordering process and nonpharmacist staff. Cincinnati-based Humana RightSourceRx ranks second (890). Average overall satisfaction in the mail order segment was 869.

J.D. Power's 2016 U.S. Pharmacy Study, now in its eighth year, measures customer satisfaction with brick-and-mortar pharmacies across five factors: prescription ordering/pickup process, store, cost competitiveness, nonpharmacist staff and pharmacist. Satisfaction with mail-order pharmacies is measured across five factors: prescription-ordering process, prescription delivery, nonpharmacist staff, cost competitiveness and pharmacist. The study is based on responses from 14,789 pharmacy customers who filled a new prescription or refilled a prescription during the three months prior to the survey period of June 2016.