The trend: Satisfaction with a pharmacy’s digital features strongly affects customer retention. Fewer than half of customers dissatisfied with their pharmacy’s digital experience plan to return, versus more than 90% of highly satisfied customers, according to a September JD Power survey of 5,057 pharmacy customers who used a digital channel in the past six months.

The study assessed customer satisfaction with websites and mobile apps across drugstores (CVS, Walgreens), grocery pharmacies (H-E-B, Kroger), big-box pharmacies (Walmart), insurer-affiliated mail-order pharmacies, and online-only options like Amazon.

Why it matters: Consumers are more willing to buy medications online: 92.9 million US adults will purchase prescription drugs at an online pharmacy this year, we estimate, up 10.8% YoY. That means they’ll expect pharmacy websites and apps across traditional and digital environments to handle tasks such as refills, orders, price and insurance checks, status and delivery tracking, and answering medication questions.

Mail-order providers (which primarily serve customers online and remotely) outperformed brick-and-mortar pharmacies in digital customer experience, per JD Power. Mail-order pharmacies scored 707 out of 1,000 for digital satisfaction, versus 677 for brick-and-mortar locations. Kaiser Permanente (746) and Amazon Pharmacy (741) also outscored the top brick-and-mortar pharmacy, H-E-B (724). Digital features and tools are likely central to mail-order pharmacies’ operating models, while many brick-and-mortar pharmacies may still treat them as extensions of the store.

Implications for pharmacies: For customers managing prescriptions digitally, friction like failed login or app errors, unclear Rx status, or confusing pricing/insurance information can delay medication access. Meanwhile, the proliferation of online options across mail-order, drugstore, grocery, and big-box pharmacies can make switching pharmacies seem easy. However, just offering a website or app alone is not enough: Simple navigation, timely refill and pickup alerts after a doctor sends in the order, and easy access to pharmacists or support staff can help build loyalty.