J.D. Power’s 2025 U.S. Pharmacy Study reveals shifting trends as customers increasingly favor mail-order pharmacies, discounters, and supermarkets over traditional chain drug stores, finding better satisfaction with their pharmacy experiences. Overall satisfaction with mail-order pharmacies has risen by seven points on a 1,000-point scale this year, while chain drug stores have seen their scores fall behind those of other brick-and-mortar options, prompting many customers to consider switching providers.
Health Mart leads among brick-and-mortar chain drug stores with a satisfaction score of 759, followed by Good Neighbor Pharmacy at 732. Among mass merchandisers, Sam’s Club tops the list for the tenth consecutive year with a score of 778, while Costco ranks second at 765. In supermarket pharmacies, Wegmans ranks highest at 764, with Publix and H-E-B trailing closely behind. PillPack by Amazon Pharmacy ranks highest in the mail order category for the second straight year, scoring 745, followed by Kaiser Permanente Pharmacy and Amazon Pharmacy.
Chain drug stores posted an average score of 643, only slightly up from last year but still trailing mail order pharmacies by 54 points, mass merchandisers by 63 points, and supermarkets by 72 points. Mail order pharmacies saw the largest gains, reaching 697 in satisfaction. Digital tools like websites, mobile apps, and texting are key drivers of satisfaction, with 63% of mail order customers expressing interest in using digital pharmacies—up 5 percentage points from 2024. However, a third of customers remain unaware of digital pharmacy brands, with Amazon Pharmacy having the highest brand recognition among those familiar with the category.
Supermarkets and mass merchandisers outperform chain drug stores in staffing, pharmacist trust, ease of ordering, and speed of filling prescriptions. Christopher Lis, managing director of global healthcare intelligence at J.D. Power, notes that chain drug store customers are much more likely to consider switching pharmacies within the next year, signaling a potential tipping point in the pharmacy market. The study surveyed 14,700 pharmacy customers from May 2024 to May 2025 and marks its 17th year measuring satisfaction across pharmacy types.