Report: Mail-Order Pharmacy Satisfaction Climbs as Retail Trust Slips

Mail-order pharmacy satisfaction rose 2 points year over year to 699 on a 1,000-point scale, while brick-and-mortar pharmacy satisfaction fell 7 points to 669, according to the JD Power 2026 U.S. Pharmacy Study.¹ JD Power attributed the divergence to stronger live-agent support and digital convenience among mail-order providers, against weakening trust and perceived value in retail settings.

The 18th annual study is based on responses from 14,144 pharmacy customers who filled a prescription in the past year, fielded from May 2025 through May 2026.

Why Is Mail-Order Satisfaction Rising?

Amazon Pharmacy ranked highest in the mail-order segment at 745, followed by Kaiser Permanente Pharmacy at 733 and Walmart Pharmacy Mail Services at 714. JD Power attributed the segment's 2-point gain to improved live-agent phone support and digital ordering tools, but flagged that those gains are running ahead of the segment's ability to resolve problems.

That gap matters more than it once did, according to Meaghan Hafner, senior director of healthcare solutions at JD Power. “Most pharmacies are meeting customer expectations during routine interactions, which means competitive differentiation increasingly occurs when problems arise,” she said in an email statement to Pharmaceutical Commerce.² With digital convenience now standard, she said, “first-contact resolution and proactive communication will become increasingly important areas of focus” as customer expectations continue to rise.

Why Is Brick-and-Mortar Satisfaction Declining?

Among brick-and-mortar chain drug stores, Good Neighbor Pharmacy scored highest at 748, followed by Health Mart at 747 and CVS Pharmacy at 653. Sam's Club led mass merchandiser pharmacies for an 11th consecutive year at 786, ahead of Costco at 770. H-E-B topped supermarket pharmacies at 773, followed by Wegmans at 749 and Publix at 741.¹ Despite those leaders, JD Power found the segment's overall 7-point decline traced to weakening customer trust and perceived value rather than a falloff in digital capability.

That erosion reflects a harder bar retail pharmacies now have to clear, according to Hafner. “Trust remains one of the most valuable assets a pharmacy can build, particularly in an environment where customers have more choices and higher expectations than ever before,” she told Pharmaceutical Commerce. Trust, she added, is “shaped through consistent execution, transparent communication and demonstrated expertise over time,” and organizations that invest in those fundamentals “will be better positioned to improve customer satisfaction and loyalty.”

What Ties the Two Channels Together?

JD Power's rankings span brick-and-mortar formats and mail order, but Hafner said customers are no longer sorting their experience by channel at all. “Customers increasingly expect digital tools, easy ordering and seamless prescription management as part of the basic pharmacy experience,” she said, adding that convenience alone is no longer enough to stand out. “What is becoming more difficult to replicate is the combination of convenience and personalized support.”

That shift extends to how customers move between touchpoints once a prescription is in hand. “Customers are no longer thinking about their pharmacy interactions as digital versus in-person,” Hafner said. “They expect to move seamlessly between pharmacists, websites, mobile apps and text messaging depending on the situation,” and the pharmacies posting the strongest scores, across both mail order and retail, are the ones building connected experiences around that expectation rather than optimizing a single channel.

In the study's public release, direct human interaction and effortless convenience were deemed “non-negotiable when it comes to customer satisfaction,” whether a customer is speaking with a pharmacist by phone for a mail-order prescription or picking up medication in person.¹

The divergence underscores the growing weight of mail-order and direct channels in shaping the pharmacy touchpoints that influence adherence and therapy start rates, alongside the retail relationships that remain central to in-person counseling and access.

References

1. JD Power. “Care & Convenience: The New Rx for Pharmacy Satisfaction.” Press release, July 28, 2026. jdpower.com/business/press-releases/2026-u-s-pharmacy-study
2. Meaghan Hafner, senior director, healthcare solutions, JD Power. Email statement to Pharmaceutical Commerce, Aug. 19, 2026.