Preparing Your Pharmacy for the Holidays

5 Ways to Get Your Pharmacy Holiday-Ready

Posted on Nov 21, 2022

The holiday season can be one of the busiest times of year for pharmacies. Not only does it mark the beginning of cold and flu season, but the demand for over-the-counter products also increases. Before you find yourself swept up in the holiday rush, it’s important to make sure your pharmacy is prepared. Here are 5 ways to get your pharmacy holiday-ready:

1. Check Your Inventory

Keep an eye on your inventory levels, especially for seasonal items that will be in high demand, including:

- - Cold & Flu Medications
  - Chapstick
  - Cough Drops
  - Hand Cream
  - Gift Cards, Greeting Cards & Wrapping Paper
  - Sanitizer
  - Tissues
  - Vaccines

BestRx makes managing your inventory easy, with our EDI capabilities and real-time sales and inventory reporting.

2. Post Your Holiday Hours & Any Promotions

If your pharmacy will have modified hours over the holidays, be sure to let your customer know. In addition to updating your business profile online, displaying signs at the entrance and your pharmacy counter can help alert patients.

Don’t forget to highlight any promotional offers online and in your store as well. In fact, you can take advantage of our integration with Local Inventory on Google to quickly add product and promotional information to your business profile in a few clicks.

3. Take Care of Your Staff

Be sure to spend some time working through holiday schedules with your staff. It’s important to communicate your holiday pay and time off request policy in advance. Working through holiday schedules together will ensure that your pharmacy can handle the holiday rush and that your staff is able to spend some time with their loved ones too.

You can even manage employee shift activity, including overtime and holiday pay using the Time Clock feature in BestRx!

4. Promote Your Time-Saving Services

Just like your pharmacy, your patients are busier than ever during the holidays. That’s why it’s important to remind them about any convenient services you offer. These time-saving services not only help streamline your pharmacy operations but may incentivize patients to shop at your store. This includes:

- Curbside pickup and/or Delivery options.
- Electronic refill request and prescription reminders.
- Remote/contactless payment options.
- Online refill requests via the Your Local Pharmacy app.
- Vaccines offered.

Plus, you can leverage your BestRx software to automate many of these services, so they’re easy for your patients and your staff.

5. Spread Holiday Cheer

Don’t forget to send warm wishes to your customers, too! This helps to build stronger relationships with your customers and lets them know you appreciate them. With the BestRx Messaging Interface, it’s easy to create custom holiday messages to send to all your pharmacy customers electronically, through email or text.

While you may never be fully prepared for the busy holiday season, there are several things you can do to get ready. Plus, you can leverage your pharmacy software to help. Find out how BestRx can help your pharmacy keep up with increased customer demand. Request a free demo today.