Can an independent pharmacy actually compete with Clicks and Dis-Chem? Not on price, and not on loyalty programme scale. Clicks alone holds close to a quarter of the retail pharmacy market and its ClubCard counts more than 11 million members, numbers no single independent will ever match. But that's not really what figuring out how to get customers for a pharmacy comes down to. It comes down to the parts of the job a big chain counter, tucked at the back of a large-format store, simply doesn't have time to do well.
Roughly 3,580 community pharmacies are registered with the South African Pharmacy Council, and the independents among them aren't losing customers because their pharmacists are less capable. They're losing customers when a repeat script is slower to collect, a question takes too long to get answered, or nobody thought to make the pharmacy easy to find online. Fix those, and a pharmacy stops competing with the chains on their terms and starts winning on its own.
Why Independent Pharmacies Shouldn't Try to Out-Scale the Chains
Corporate chains now account for roughly half the market by revenue, and one industry analyst has suggested they could take a further 12% share from independents in the years ahead. That's a real pressure, but it isn't solved by trying to imitate a supermarket-sized store. It's solved by leaning into what an independent pharmacy can do that a chain structurally can't: know a customer's name, their chronic medication, and their family, and act on that immediately.
1. Make Repeat Scripts Effortless So There's No Reason to Switch
Chronic medication is where pharmacies build long-term relationships, since a customer collecting the same script every month has no real reason to keep choosing you unless it's genuinely easier than going anywhere else. A short WhatsApp message a few days before a script is due, letting a customer know it's ready or asking if anything has changed, removes the friction that sends people to whichever pharmacy happens to be closest that day.
A record of each chronic customer's repeat script dates, so reminders go out before they run low
A WhatsApp or SMS system for "your script is ready" messages, so there's no wasted trip
A short, spoken confirmation of what's changed (new dosage, new brand, new doctor) at every collection
A clear answer on what your pharmacy can dispense directly against a medical aid plan versus what needs pre-authorisation
A named staff member customers can ask for by name, not just "the pharmacist on duty"
2. Offer the Personal Health Services a Chain Counter Rarely Has Time For
Blood pressure checks, basic diabetes screening, and a few unhurried minutes of medication counselling are services many pharmacies are equipped to offer, but they get lost in the pace of a high-traffic chain store. Making time for them, and being visibly known for them, turns a pharmacy into a small, trusted health point in the community rather than just a place that hands over boxes.
Put a simple sign at the counter listing the free or low-cost health checks you offer. Most customers don't ask what's available, they just assume a pharmacy only sells medicine unless told otherwise.
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3. Show Up When Someone Searches for a Pharmacy Near Them
A new resident, a visitor, or someone caught without a repeat script will usually search for the nearest pharmacy rather than ask around. If your Google Business Profile isn't complete, or your hours aren't listed correctly, that search sends them straight to a chain instead.
This is the part of getting customers that keeps working without daily effort. A local SEO setup done properly means your pharmacy shows up for searches like "pharmacy near me" or "pharmacy open now" in your area, alongside the bigger chains rather than buried under them.
4. Build Referral Relationships With Local GPs and Clinics
Doctors and clinics nearby are constantly writing prescriptions, and a patient who's just left a consultation is often looking for the closest, quickest place to fill it. A short introduction to local GPs, letting them know you're able to handle chronic dispensing quickly and query anything unclear directly with their rooms, can turn a practice into a steady, ongoing source of new customers.
This works the same way it does for any healthcare business: consistency and quick, professional communication build the kind of trust that keeps a referral relationship going.
5. Run a Simple, Personal Loyalty Habit Instead of Chasing a Loyalty App
Trying to build a ClubCard-style loyalty programme from scratch isn't a realistic goal for most independent pharmacies, and it doesn't need to be. A simple habit, like remembering a regular customer's usual order, checking in after a course of antibiotics is finished, or letting a chronic customer know about a relevant health check, does more for retention than a points system most people forget to use anyway.
- Don't try to out-scale Clicks or Dis-Chem on price or loyalty programme size. Compete on speed, personal service, and knowing your regulars
- Set up WhatsApp or SMS reminders for repeat scripts so chronic customers never have a reason to switch pharmacies
- Make time for health screenings and medication counselling, and make sure customers actually know these services exist
- Complete your Google Business Profile so people searching for a nearby pharmacy can actually find you
- Build genuine referral relationships with local GPs and clinics, since they see new patients with prescriptions every day
- A simple, personal loyalty habit often beats a points system nobody remembers to use
This is what how to get customers for a pharmacy actually looks like for an independent in South Africa. Not trying to match a national chain's scale, but making repeat scripts effortless, offering the personal health services a busy chain counter rarely has time for, showing up online for the searches that matter, and building the local relationships that keep customers coming back. Once these pieces are in place, most of it keeps working quietly in the background. If your current website isn't pulling its weight in that mix, take a look at our website design services and we'll help you build one that does.