The news: Walmart is expanding responsibilities for 3,000 pharmacy technicians—about 9% of its US pharmacy tech workforce.
- Walmart is elevating these technician roles to pharmacy operations team lead positions that pay an average of $28 an hour, with the potential to earn up to $42 an hour.
- For context, pharmacy techs work alongside pharmacists but with less training, typically handle dispensing, inventory management, and billing or insurance issues.
- Walmart pays for associates to become certified pharmacy techs, and doesn’t require a college degree to become a pharmacy sales associate, technician, or operations team lead.
Why it matters: More members of Walmart’s pharmacy team could spend more time with patients. Pharmacy technicians can already administer vaccinations such as COVID-19 and flu shots in most states. As their roles expand, more in-store team members will be available to answer patients’ medication questions and provide testing and treatment for minor health issues.
Walmart could become a trusted and desirable pharmacy destination, delivering a better experience to customers who already rely on pharmacists for their health needs.
- 77% of adults trust their local pharmacist, and 84% view pharmacies as credible sources for their healthcare questions, according to a recent survey of 2,200 consumers from CVS Health and Morning Consult.
- 70% in that survey think pharmacists should be able to provide healthcare services when primary care is unavailable.
Implications for pharmacies: Despite growing use of online pharmacy services, in-person prescription purchases still far outnumber online ones, per M3 MI’s March 2025 consumer health study.
But established pharmacy players still struggle to attract shoppers who are frustrated with long pharmacy lines and swap front-of-store purchases for online shopping. As many pharmacy locations close or cut hours, remaining stores must deliver a strong in-store experience—so walk-in customers leave confident their health and medication questions can be answered, often without needing a traditional doctor’s visit.