Divya examines why direct-to-consumer strategies shouldn't default to mail-order as the endpoint for every program. She argues that preserving patient choice between retail pickup and home delivery can reduce friction, improve therapy initiation, and strengthen the overall patient experience.
To learn more about GoodRx's Pharma Direct solution, visit GoodRx Pharma Direct.
Read on for Divya's insights.
Direct-to-Consumer Shouldn't Always Mean Direct-To-Mail-Order: Why Fulfillment Choice Matters
By Divya Iyer, SVP, Head of Revenue, Pharma Direct, GoodRx
Access execution now drives launch outcomes as much as clinical innovation. Coverage is fragmented and demand moves faster than payer decision making. The data is sobering: more than half of U.S. drug launches that miss expectations do so because of market access constraints, not clinical limitations. Self-pay has moved from a temporary bridge to a core access strategy, and fulfillment has become central to the patient access experience.
While many patients are turning to mail order for convenience, this path should not be treated as the default endpoint for every DTC program. Many Americans still value the speed, familiarity, and pharmacist interaction that come with retail pickup and a strategy that surfaces a transparent price online falls short if it does not connect them to their preferred channel.
Digital Access Still Needs a Retail Pharmacy Strategy
Many DTC programs focus on the front end of the patient journey: awareness, search, education, and pricing. But the last mile is just as important, and a one-size-fits-all fulfillment model risks losing patients before they've even started therapy.
Consumer data reinforces the continued value of the in-person retail experience: 77% of adults trust their local pharmacist and 80% prefer face-to-face pharmacy care. Additionally, many patients take multiple medications, and requiring them to use separate DTC pharmacies for each therapy creates more friction. The ability to fill all prescriptions at the same pharmacy streamlines the patient experience.
The opportunity doesn't stop with patients—healthcare providers are also an important consideration in a manufacturer's channel strategy. HCPs are accustomed to prescribing to local pharmacies that patients already trust. Redirecting prescriptions to a brand-specific mail order pharmacy introduces friction into the prescribing process, creating a meaningful barrier to channel adoption and scale.
The lesson for pharma is clear: digital access does not eliminate the value of retail pharmacy. It makes the connection between digital demand and pharmacy fulfillment even more important.
GoodRx Pharma Direct Bridges the Fulfillment Gap
As self-pay and DTC approaches become a core part of the access model, manufacturers need more than a promotional channel or branded portal. They need reliable fulfillment channels so patients can start and stay on therapy.
GoodRx Pharma Direct is built to create that connection. GoodRx gives manufacturers access to nearly 25 million users who are actively looking for savings on their medications, along with the flexibility of a 70,000+ retail pharmacy network. That allows patients to fill their prescriptions wherever is most convenient, rather than being locked into a single channel. While GoodRx offers both in-person and mail order fulfillment, over 90% of brand drug claims via GoodRx are picked up at retail.
That footprint is difficult to replicate at scale. By surfacing self-pay pricing on GoodRx, brands put the full value of the retail experience within reach from day one. GoodRx lets brands launch and manage access programs without building standalone portals or stitching together point solutions, bringing pricing, discovery, savings, and fulfillment together.
GoodRx is also expanding the ways consumers access affordable medications through retail pharmacies. GoodRx Companion, a monthly subscription that lowers everyday health costs, gives members access to 200+ common generic medications for free and hundreds more for under $10 at pharmacies nationwide*. While Pharma Direct helps manufacturers connect brand access programs to flexible fulfillment, Companion reflects the same principle: affordability matters most when it is connected to the pharmacies patients trust.
Whether a patient opts for retail pickup or home delivery, GoodRx is the marketplace that can make this happen.
A Case Study: GLP-1s Show Why Choice Still Matters
GLP-1s offer a proof point. They are among the most digital-friendly categories in pharma, with high consumer awareness, significant search demand, and growing interest in cash-pay models. Yet even in this category, many patients choose retail pickup.
In 2025, GoodRx launched GoodRx for Weight Loss, a subscription combining pricing, care, and access to FDA-approved GLP-1 medications together in a seamless experience. Since launch, GoodRx data shows that 67% of GoodRx for Weight Loss subscribers have chosen to pick up their medication at a retailer instead of using mail order.
That behavior should matter to manufacturers. Patients may discover a treatment online, but many still want to finish the journey at the pharmacy they trust.
The Next Phase of DTC: Designing Around Fulfillment Choice
As more manufacturers adopt DTC strategies, fulfillment should be treated as a core design choice, not an afterthought.
The manufacturers that succeed will be those that meet patients where they are with access options that are not only visible and affordable, but also fillable in the way patients prefer.
Learn how GoodRx can help manufacturers connect access with flexible fulfillment options.
*Terms apply, eligible free medications and discounted prices are subject to change at any time.
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