South Africans in the middle- to upper-income bracket - a core part of Dis-Chem's customer base - are collecting medication more frequently, with the retailer reporting a 25% improvement in chronic medication adherence rates among its customers. Following the release of its year-to-end-February results on Wednesday, Dis-Chem financial director Rui Morais said that before Covid-19, customers on chronic medication for diseases such as diabetes would on average collect medicine 6.4 times in a 12-month cycle. Since Covid cases started appearing in SA in March, this has increased significantly; if extrapolated over a year, it would equate to eight collections over a 12-month period. Morais attributed this increase to more awareness among customers about how Covid-19 can have severe effects on people living with co-morbidities such as diabetes or hypertension. He said customers havebeen using delivery channels or placing orders and coming in to collect.However, although ther...

Article Source: https://www.businesslive.co.za/bt/business-and-economy/2020-05-24-medication-sales-show-divide-as-new-retail-patterns-emerge/