Investigating the impact of Customer Behavior and Perceptions on adoption of community Pharmacy Services in Islamabad, Pakistan: A Case Study of D. Watson Chain Pharmacies

Abstract

This study investigated factors influencing customer service adoption at D. Watson Pharmacy in Islamabad. The key factors covering accessibility challenges, trust deficits, and service quality perceptions are examined through structured quantitative surveys. A sample of 120 respondents from urban and peri-urban areas of Islamabad participated in data collection. Surveys incorporated validated Likert-scale and binary items derived from SERVQUAL and Accessibility Theory constructs. The statistical analysis used SPSS software to perform descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, correlation, and regression modeling. The demographic results indicated predominant youth participation, balanced gender representation, and diverse education and income levels. Descriptive findings revealed mixed perceptions of convenience and pricing distributed across all customer segments. Chi-square tests demonstrated no significant association between branch choice, perceived convenience, and pricing perceptions. The results of spearman correlation analysis detected a small yet significant negative relationship between trust and customer satisfaction. In addition ordinal regression results indicated that trust and satisfaction did not significantly predict customer visit frequency outcomes. Finally, multiple linear regression identified perceived pricing as the only significant predictor of visit frequency outcomes. The crosstab analysis revealed consistent customer suggestions for home delivery services and enhanced pharmacist training. No significant group differences appeared in improvement suggestions between high and low satisfaction respondents. The findings suggested that Islamabad’s urban infrastructure reduced accessibility disparities, affecting branch selection dynamics empirically. Cultural expectations in Pakistan may explain the observed inverse trust-satisfaction relationship among D. Watson customers. This research recommendation includes transparent pricing strategies, branch expansion, home delivery pilots, and enhanced pharmacist training programs. Digital communication channels and collaborative partnerships with transport providers are also proposed to improve customer access. This study contributed to literature on community pharmacy adoption by contextualising urban customer behavior in Pakistan. The study findings may guide D. Watson management and policymakers in enhancing service accessibility, trust, and overall satisfaction. The methodology followed Saunders’ Research Onion framework and a positivist approach ensuring rigorous quantitative analysis. In this research data reliability was assured through pilot testing and validated measurement scales adapted from established literature. Inferential analysis employed chi-square, Spearman’s correlation, ordinal regression, and multiple linear regression techniques in SPSS. Scope limitations included exclusive focus on Islamabad branches, restricting generalisability to other urban or rural contexts. Finally, future research recommendations proposed longitudinal designs, qualitative interviews, geo-spatial mapping, and exploration of digital engagement variables. In summary, this study contributed insights to enhance D. Watson Pharmacy’s competitive position and public health. The results also underscored the importance of context-specific adaptations for urban community pharmacies in Pakistan.