News » Conference news, DDA news, Dispensary guidance news, Pharmacy Owners' News » Convenience is no longer a nice-to-have
June 16th 2026
Convenience is no longer a nice-to-have, but a core value exchange between brands and consumers, according to a new report from retail analyst Mintel
Convenience as the New Consumer Currency highlights that today’s consumers often operate under time-sensitive schedules and feel mentally overloaded. It says: “In this environment, convenience is less about novelty and more about relief. It is defined by the reduction of friction, effort, and decision fatigue, and is now shaping expectations across categories and redefining what meaningful value looks like.”
Adding convenience in the dispensary is the aim of NHS initiatives such as ‘Amazon-style’ prescription tracking that enables patients to track the progress of electronic prescriptions live in NHS App. The aim is to reduce unnecessary calls and visits to dispensaries using the electronic prescription service (EPS). In its press release NHS England estimated that almost half (45 per cent) of phone calls to community pharmacies are from patients asking if their prescription is ready, with the new service helping to free up time for pharmacists to provide advice to patients. The app flags when medicines are “ready to collect” or “dispatched by pharmacy” if they are being delivered.
At launch, the service was expected to be made available to nearly 5,000 more pharmacies by May 2026 – covering 60 per cent of those in England.
For pharmacies, the EPS is the foundation of additional NHS app funcionality, and this is considered a success story for the NHS in England. It is also the model being used for the development of electronic prescribing programmes in Wales and Scotland. In the week to June 5, 2026, in England, there were 53.31 million active EPS nominations, which represents a rise of 72,147 on the previous week.
Increasing use of the EPS increasingly prejudices rural patients and their dispensing practices who stubbornly remain out of scope of the EPS programme and without NHS funding for the proprietary EPS modules that have been developed for dispensing practices. Inclusion in the EPS, particularly as NHS app functionality increases remains a key contractual negotiation point for the DDA, in partnership with the GB GPCs.
So, what does convenience in the dispensary look like?
According to Mintel, in the retail environment, value lies in streamlined shopping, faster preparation, and effortless consumption through fewer steps, fewer decisions, and faster access to what is needed in the moment. It says: “Time-saving solutions are especially relevant as consumers juggle work, life at home, and social commitments in increasingly fragmented routines.”
Faster access takes many forms – from dedicated personnel focussed on patient-facing services to dispensary automation reducing out of stocks, dispensary errors and improving 24/7 access to prescriptions via vending machines. Mintel says: “Quick delivery, easy-to-use formats, and frictionless checkout experiences are no longer perceived as added benefits, but as expected features of convenient retail.”
In his presentation to the DDA 2024 conference – and follow up podcast on ‘The Smarter Dispensary’ - DDA Board Member Mark Stone makes several recommendations to improve dispensary productivity:
If you would like to understand how dispensary automation can help improve patient satisfaction with your dispensary services, come to the DDA 2026 conference. A wide range of dispensary automation providers, including vending machines, have already signed up to attend.
Sign up today to see what dispensary automation can do for you and your patients. Sign up for your free place at the 2026 DDA Conference
Listen to the DDA 2026 conference podcast
Listen to the DDA podcast with Board Member Mark Stone, The Smarter Dispensary
