Clarkston Associate Partner David Patterson Speaks with Drug Store News on Retail Pharmacy
August 28, 2025 | David Patterson, associate partner at Clarkston, was recently featured by Drug Store News for his thoughts on the most pressing challenges facing retail pharmacy operators. He speaks to competition on front of store products, the need for automation and effective omnichannel experiences, and strategies for addressing data security concerns. Read Patterson’s featured quotes below and the full article here.
The 5 Biggest Challenges Facing Retail Pharmacy
“The front of store—health and beauty products, snacks, household goods—all continue to be squeezed by competition from big box stores, and the usual suspects like Amazon,” said David Patterson, associate partner at Clarkston Consulting. “I think as we’ve encountered increasing inflationary pressures, shoppers are looking to the Walmarts or the Costcos due to perceived savings.”
“I do think there’s plenty of room to automate.”
“When you look at the drug store space, many lag behind in terms of the omnichannel experiences that most shoppers expect at this point.”
“There are data security concerns that come with a lot of these new digital platforms, and the more of them that you offer, the more you have to maintain and keep secure.”