Guardian is the Roy Morgan Pharmacy/Chemist of the month for March with a customer satisfaction rating of 93 per cent edging out Priceline Pharmacy on 92 per cent and TerryWhite Chemmart and 2018 Pharmacy/Chemist of the Year Discount Drug Stores both on 91 per cent.
Guardian is a former winner of the Roy Morgan Pharmacy/Chemist of the Year Customer Satisfaction Award in 2012, 2013 and 2014 and has returned to the winner’s circle with a significant improvement in performance over the last year. Guardian increased customer satisfaction by 6 per cent points from a year ago to 93 per cent – a larger increase than any of its leading rivals.
Several other leading pharmacies improved their customer satisfaction over the last year including Priceline Pharmacy up 2 per cent points to 92 per cent, TerryWhite Chemmart up 2 per cent points to 91 per cent, Amcal/Amcal Max up 2 per cent points to 90 per cent and Chemist Warehouse up 1 per cent point to 90 per cent.
Almost 12 million Australians shop at pharmacies or chemists in an average month consisting of over 6.7 million women (56 per cent) and more than 5.2 million men (44 per cent). Women comprise a larger proportion of the customer base at all the leading pharmacies and chemists tracked by Roy Morgan, although the exact proportions differ depending upon the outlet.
However, analysing the satisfaction levels women and men have for the leading pharmacies shows that women award a higher customer satisfaction rating to Guardian (95 per cent cf. 90 per cent for men), Priceline Pharmacy (93 per cent cf. 89 per cent), Chemist Warehouse (91 per cent cf. 89 per cent) and Amcal/Amcal Max (93 per cent cf. 85 per cent).
In contrast men give a higher customer satisfaction rating to both TerryWhite Chemmart (92 per cent cf. 90 per cent for women) and for Discount Drug Stores (94 per cent cf. 88 per cent).
Analysing pharmacy/chemist customers by Generation* reveals pharmacies and chemists have customers across every generation including Baby Boomers (26 per cent), members of Generation X (25 per cent), Generation Y (23 per cent), the younger Generation Z (15 per cent) and the older Pre-Boomers (11 per cent).
The Generations analysis is important as it reveals significant differences in the customer make-up for the leading pharmacies. The biggest customer group for monthly winner Guardian, as well as rivals Amcal/Amcal Max, Discount Drug Stores and TerryWhite Chemmart, is the Baby Boomer generation.
However, the biggest customer group by generation for My Chemist, Priceline Pharmacy and the Soul Pattinson chemist is Generation X while the biggest for Chemist Warehouse is the younger Generation Y.
Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine says Guardian has returned to the top with a significant improvement in customer satisfaction over the last year propelling the pharmacy past rivals including Priceline Pharmacy, Discount Drug Stores and TerryWhite Chemmart:
“Guardian Pharmacy has returned to the winner’s circle with a customer satisfaction rating of 93 per cent in March ahead of Priceline Pharmacy on 92 per cent, Discount Drug Stores and TerryWhite Chemmart on 91 per cent, and Chemist Warehouse and Amcal/Amcal Max both on 90 per cent.
“Almost 12 million Australians shop at pharmacies or chemists in an average month and the highly contested market for health and beauty products, including cosmetics, is a key driver of patronage at pharmacies and chemists.
“In-depth research from Roy Morgan released earlier this year shows that although Australian women are increasingly turning to the Internet to buy health and beauty products, including cosmetics, pharmacies and chemists continue to maintain a dominant role in this market,” Ms Levine said.
“In 2018 a significant 42% of Australian women who buy cosmetics in an average six months bought these products from pharmacies and chemists, up 9ppts from four years earlier. This increase came at the expense of other outlets including supermarkets, department stores and discount department stores that all experienced a decline in their shares of this market.
“Pharmacies and chemists are aggressively growing their share of this key market and it’s vital for these retailers to understand who their customers are and how they can grow their market share. Analysing the market for pharmacies and chemists reveals that there are significant differences between what type of consumer shops at which pharmacy or chemist.
“For Guardian Pharmacy it is the Baby Boomers who are their biggest customers when considered by generation and Boomers also lead the way for rivals including Amcal/Amcal Max, Discount Drug Stores and TerryWhite Chemmart.
“However, My Chemist, Priceline Pharmacy and Soul Pattinson are patronised by more members of Generation X than any other generation and market leader Chemist Warehouse counts Generation Y as their largest customer group by generation.
“These differences highlight how different pharmacies appeal to a variety of consumers and by digging deeper into the data Roy Morgan can pinpoint which potentially lucrative markets a pharmacy may be neglecting that could provide a new source of growth going forward,” Ms Levine said.
