United Drug were excited to welcome customers back to their first webinar of 2023, following receipt of their award for best Patient Education Programme – Pharmaceutical, in December.

In January, they were joined by Larry Ryan, Director of B&A Research and Insights, Oonagh O'Hagan, Managing Director of Meagher's Pharmacy Group, and Denis O'Driscoll, Superintendent Pharmacist of LloydsPharmacy Ireland to discuss some of the key trends at play and likely to have influence over how shoppers approach pharmacy in the year ahead.

The panel discussion brought insights to pharmacists into consumer shopping trends by examining various conflicting dynamics including trust, value for money, the drift online, the importance of shopping locally, the green/sustainability agenda, and the many other aspects and vectors that may have a bearing on consumer needs and a pharmacy's ability to address them.

Larry Ryan from B&A drew on published work undertaken for the IPU and others as well as B&A’s ongoing review of local and global trends and themes. With this, the aim was to give a series of practical takeaway learnings and action points appropriate to the Pharmacy and their staff.

Discussion points from the night included:

1. Services: How Pharmacies can expand their services given the current challenges at hand.
2. Economy: Given the current economic climate, how can pharmacies address customer price sensitivity but at the same time, be mindful not to devalue the pharmacy’s service with too much focus on discount and promotions.
3. Online: How can pharmacies incorporate online sales into their business.
4. Sustainability: Sustainability remains a key focus for the pharmacy customer for the future.

CPD Learning

United Drug would like to remind pharmacists that the content and materials from our webinars can be included in your ePortfolio for CPD learning. You are welcome to use the content we provide for your reflective practice to identify new learnings or how you can improve your knowledge, skills, behaviours, or attitudes within the pharmacy.

If you would like to recap on any previous Knowledge Hub webinars, or for further information, please email udwmarketing@united-drug.com