5 Trends Transforming the Retail Pharmacy Industry

Retail pharmacies are rapidly embracing trends and moving towards digitalization. Modern strategies are entering the pharmaceutical sector and defining how pharmacies do business. Let's explore the top trends in retail pharmacy and identify the key focus areas in the current business scene:
 

1. eCommerce and omnichannel: Stepping into the digital world 

One thing in the retail pharmacy industry is certain: Digital pharmacies are the new wave of innovation in healthcare. 

Customer culture involves having this constant access to products and services. This is exactly why pharmaceutical companies are shifting towards their digital transformation with innovative solutions such as ERP implementation, retail management systems, eCommerce platform development, additional integrations with apps, and more.  

Digitalization is the key to the modern customer's heart. As customers seek personalized attention and a tailored approach from the companies they choose, businesses must be prepared to meet these expectations. 

The omnichannel strategy is an inseparable part of successful eCommerce: providing unified customer experience across all platforms and interactions, whether online or offline. Provide customers with multiple sales channels for their needs, such as physical stores, eCommerce platforms, mobile apps, but also ensure that there is seamless integration between all data sources. Your ERP system should provide a unified view of all sales channels and save you the trouble of dealing with multiple systems. The product we implement as Microsoft and LS Retail partners - Dynamics 365 LS Central - is a holistic solution that will eliminate this chaos by unifying POS (Point of Sale), CRM (Customer Relationship Management), and ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning), retail management and medicine dispensing.  
 

LS Central is a one-of-a-kind solution adapted to the needs and requirements of the pharmaceutical industry. It combines ERP, retail management and medicine dispensing into one system, giving users a unified view over all business operations and the entire organization. 
 

2. Expanded services: Pharmacies as health centers

As pharmaceutical companies shape their business strategy around delivering the best of quality healthcare services to their clients, they must also prioritize real human communication and assistance. For example, to make customers feel that their needs are understood and valued, pharmacies can offer consultations with pharmacists and doctors. With the right solution, customer will be able to schedule appointments through their digital platform and have online consultations with real specialists. This way pharmacies can provide both in-store counselling and online consultations for individuals who are unable to visit the pharmacy or leave their homes. 
 

3. Seamless customer journey: From order to delivery 

Customers do not want to experience discontent when ordering from your digital pharmacy. The order and delivery process should be smooth and easy, ensuring customers complete their purchases without abandoning them. Additionally, providing a range of delivery options is particularly advantageous for those living far from urban centres or pharmacy locations. 

Ensure your customers a seamless journey – integrate different payment and delivery methods to suit each preference. Add the option of payment on delivery, card payment or gift vouchers. Additionally, you should consider offering different delivery methods to help your clients make the most convenient decision for them and be stimulated to make the purchase. For example, the click and collect model is spreading across consumer culture – customers place an order online and pick up the products at a pharmacy location or a prescription collection locker. By incorporating various ways for payment and delivery, pharmacies also give people from smaller towns, where access to medication and healthcare products is often limited, a chance to receive the care they need.   


 

4. Sales and promotional offers: Customer retention 

Promotional offers show that you want to benefit your customers and show them an individual approach. Giving them the chance to buy medication and other medical supplies and products at a discount will turn you into their preferred choice for a pharmacy and their favorite healthcare provider. 

Loyalty programs are another beneficial way to retain your customers. Implement a rewards program when they can earn points with each purchase they make, which stimulates them to shop more in the future. Or send individual promo codes to your loyal members via email so they can feel personally valued and appreciated. 

Read about the different types of loyalty programs and choose to implement the one which fits your goals best.
 

5. Easy access to information: Simplicity in healthcare 

Be transparent in your offering – make sure that you provide the necessary information for all medications and products – both online and in your stores. Have a detailed description of medicine that includes the active ingredients, purpose, dosage, contraindications, warnings and precautions, side effects, interactions with other drugs, storage, etc. Customers value having access to this information, especially when it is online, and they can simply search for exactly what they need.  

However, it is crucial to provide accurate and well-structured information in your physical pharmacies as well. For instance, organizing medications and healthcare products into separate sections such as pain relief, cold and allergy treatments, digestive health, vitamins, supplements, oral care, baby care, and herbal products is a smart way to make everyone's life easier. This arrangement allows customers to quickly and easily locate the products they need without wasting time or becoming annoyed in the aimless search. Additionally, it simplifies the process for your employees when guiding customers to specific items in the pharmacy. 
 

The core of these innovative strategies lays in good management software, one that will allow you to implement and utilize them beneficially. We offer the holistic solution of LS Central for pharmacies that lets you handle drugs, prescriptions, pharmaceutical stock, retail items all through the same system – no more chaos and miscommunication. Explore the endless array of opportunities for retail modernization in the pharmaceutical industry with us and our solutions tailored to your needs. 

Contact us for a demo or consultation.

Source: 4 developing trends in retail pharmacy