The State of Reputation: Overview of Reviews in the Pharmacy Sector is a first-of-its-kind survey in Brazil , conducted by Harmo. We collected and analyzed more than 65,000 reviews published between January 2023 and September 2024, from more than 4,000 locations across 38 chains , listed on Google Business Profile.
Reviews express the experiences and opinions of these companies' customers, both quantitatively and qualitatively. Furthermore, reviews play a fundamental role in consumers' decision-making processes. According to 99firms , 9 out of 10 customers read reviews before making a purchase, demonstrating the importance of this resource for companies seeking to win and retain customers.
The report offers a detailed overview of these establishments' online reputation, based on the voices of their own customers. Our goal is to provide the market with the first industry benchmarking based on public reviews, allowing companies to compare their performance, identify opportunities for improvement, and strengthen their business strategies.
We hope that managers, entrepreneurs, professionals, and organizations in the sector can use this material to transform their businesses, promoting increasingly appropriate and personalized experiences for their customers and partners.
This report is an essential tool for understanding the current market, identifying opportunities for improvement, and strengthening the online presence of companies in the sector by considering the opinions of those who matter most: the customer.
Brands evaluated
38 networks were analyzed. The majority of reviews came from the South and Southeast regions, accounting for almost 85%, with a balanced distribution between men (46.4%) and women (53.6%).
Demographic data
The Southeast region has the largest number of reviews, representing 49% of the total, followed by the South (36.6%), Northeast (5.7%), Central-West (5.3%) and North (3.4%) regions.
Average reviews by location
The average number of reviews received per location in the 23-24 period was just 15 , meaning each location receives, on average, 1 to 2 reviews per month. Of the 38 businesses analyzed, only 3 recorded more than 30 reviews per location—equivalent to approximately 1 new review per day over a one-month period. This number is still considered low, especially considering the high daily flow of consumers in stores.
Furthermore, reviews act as social proof ; the more reviews a company receives, the more trustworthy it becomes in the eyes of consumers. At this point, we can say that the sites analyzed are, for the most part, less than ideal.
Therefore, there is a clear opportunity for brands to increase the number of reviews and, consequently, improve their online reputation and customer engagement.
Response rate
The response rate reflects the percentage of reviews responded to by brands, and is a crucial indicator of a company's engagement with customer feedback and its concern for the customer experience. In the industry, the average response rate was 67%.
The graph reveals that 11 companies achieved an ideal response rate, above 80%. In contrast, another 11 brands maintained rates between 0% and 20%, highlighting a lack of active engagement strategies on this channel, which could attract more customers to their stores .
This is an aspect that deserves special attention from the sector, since, according to data from 2024 from the Local Consumer Review Survey , 88% of consumers say they prefer to do business with companies that respond to all reviews .
Sentiment rate
According to the market benchmark, the sector is significantly below the ideal target for positive reviews. Only 72% of reviews are positive, while the ideal would be 85%. The negative review rate is also high, reaching 25% , five times higher than the ideal level of 5%.
Some effective strategies for increasing review volume include:
- Facilitate the evaluation process: Provide QR Codes or direct links to Google at strategic points of contact, such as at the end of the purchase or at the end of the service.
- Train your team: Encourage employees to ask customers directly for reviews after purchases.
- Automate reminders: Use automated emails or messages after a purchase or service to remind customers to leave a review.
- Focus on customer experience: Constantly improve customer service and product/service quality to reduce negative reviews.
These actions will not only increase review volume but will also have a direct impact on organic rankings in local searches.
Textual analysis of reviews
The results of this analysis were generated by artificial intelligence, which categorizes the text and attributes the sentiment to the customer's comments. Of the more than 65,000 public reviews analyzed in 2023 and 2024, 67% contained a comment describing the experience with the establishment.
The graph below shows the topics most discussed by consumers and consumer sentiment regarding them . A general summary of the topics is provided on the next page.
Summary of negative reviews
According to negative reviews, the main problems faced by the brands analyzed include:
- Within the service category we have points related to:
- Slow service
- Few employees;
- Lack of communication and information;
- Difficulties in delivering orders;
- Difficulty contacting establishments by telephone or other channels;
- opening hours information on Google profile.
Summary of positive reviews
Overall, brands provide a good customer experience. The main positive characteristics highlighted by consumers include:
- Attentive and friendly staff
- Wide variety of products , including medicines, cosmetics, hygiene and convenience items;
- promotions ;
- Good organization and cleanliness of establishments;
- Some pharmacies stand out for offering additional services , such as injections, laboratory tests and 24-hour operation;
- Parking availability .
Segment note
The average rating for the brands analyzed in the 2023/24 pharmacy sector was 4 stars. The distribution of ratings reveals that half of the brands in the study surpassed the overall average for the segment.
According to the study , 92% of consumers will only consider buying from companies that have a minimum 4-star rating .
This highlights the importance of brands having an online reputation strategy to maintain or achieve an average rating above 4 stars, which is considered ideal.
Brand ranking
Comparison: Number of locations and Rating
Position of marks by grade range
Conclusion
The report reveals a significant opportunity for the pharmaceutical industry: increasing the volume of reviews on Google . While other segments have already recognized the strategic value of this practice, the pharmacy sector still has a considerably low number of reviews, with an average rating of 4.0.
The pharmaceutical industry, however, is projected to grow by 12.6% by 2024 and 9.3% by 2025, according to IQVIA . This economic growth outlook creates a unique opportunity for pharmacies to pay more attention to their online reputation, allowing not only greater visibility in local searches but also attracting a growing number of customers to their physical stores, which can directly impact revenue.
Furthermore, the sector's growth has been driven by advances in technology and clinical services, such as rapid testing, vaccines, and health monitoring. According to Febrafar , online sales grew from 2.5% to 7.9%, demonstrating the sector's adaptation to consumer behavior. This scenario, combined with the population's increased life expectancy, has led to an expansion of the pharmacy offerings, incorporating new products and services, further boosting the sector.
For pharmacies, investing in their digital reputation can be crucial to capitalizing on this expansion. Strategies to increase review volume can directly result in greater customer flow and, consequently, increased revenue. Studies indicate that 92% of consumers prefer companies with ratings above 4 stars, highlighting the direct impact of a good online reputation on purchasing decisions.
Therefore, by focusing on increasing reviews, pharmacies not only increase their relevance in local Google searches, but also strengthen consumer trust, improving online performance and generating greater economic growth for the sector.
