Is Rite Aid A Good Place To Shop? All Questions Answered

Rite Aid

Rite Aid is a popular and well-known drugstore chain in the US, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 

Ranking at 150 on the 2020 Fortune 500 list, Rite Aid is a large corporation with 2451 stores (as of 2021) and about 50,000 employees. 

But, is it a good place for all your primary pharmaceutical needs? We’ll answer that and everything else related to Rite Aid in this in-depth review. 

What are Rite Aid’s Hours?

Rite Aid’s Hours depend heavily on your location and choice of store. A store in Northport, NY runs from 8 AM to 10 PM while the pharmacy runs from 9 AM to 8 PM. 

A store in Hollywood, California however, runs from 7 AM to 10 PM while the pharmacy runs from 9 AM to 8 PM. 

Similarly, a store in Ebensburg, PA runs from 8 AM to 9 PM while the pharmacy runs from 9 AM to 8 PM. 

It might seem like the pharmacy hours are the same, but even those can differ from place to place. A store in Clinton, MA runs from 7 AM to 9 PM while the pharmacy runs from 8 AM to 7 PM. 

Another thing to keep in mind is the hours are usually shorter on Sundays. The best way to check the hours is through their website’s store navigator.

What does Rite Aid Sell? 

Rite Aid is primarily a drugstore chain, but they also work as a departmental store. All of their departments and related products are discussed briefly below. 

COVID tests and vaccines

Several Rite Aid stores are COVID-19 immunization points with the facilities of testing, vaccinations for adults and minors, boosters, and oral antiviral treatments. Anyone over the age of 4 may also be eligible for free vaccination at some select stores. 

Pharmacy 

Rite Aid offers many personal pharmaceutical services related to prescription drugs and regular medications. Their ‘My Pharmacy’ service deals with your personal prescriptions. 

By signing up for this service, you can order refills right from the app and get reminded of your scheduled medication doses. You also have the option to get a detailed report about your current prescription history, immunization history, Rx Insurance Scores, and conditions and allergies. 

Rite Aid’s Pharmacy also offers a courtesy refill service, which will refill your prescriptions before your current medications run out. The app also includes pickup/refill prescriptions, and transfers to nearby Rite Aid stores. 

You can also opt for counseling and professional help about all your prescriptions, how they react with each other, what you should and shouldn’t consume, etc.

The Pharmacy also offers help with quitting smoking for free at their “Quit for You” program.

Medicine and Health 

Rite Aid offers a wide range of medications and personal care products related to a myriad of health issues. 

The medications and health products include at-home testing, allergy and sinus, cough cold, and flu, digestive health and nausea, diabetes, family planning, first aid, pain and fever relief, ear and eye care, and much more.

Personal Care

Personal Care items at Rite Aid include but are not limited to deodorants and antiperspirants, condoms and plan bs, feminine care, oral care, eye care, ear care, lip care, men’s and women’s grooming. 

There’s also a section dedicated to home testing kits available for different purposes. These include HIV tests, paternity tests, drug tests, UTI tests, pregnancy tests, and ovulation tests. 

COVID-19 at-home test kits may also be available depending on your location and choice of store. 

Gift Cards

Rite Aid has its own dedicated store for gift cards known as The Giftcard Shop. The gift cards here are available for Google Play, eBay, The Home Depot, Sephora, Playstation Store, Uber, Lowe’s, Nordstrom, Xbox, Kohl’s, Macy’s, Ulta Beauty, Dunkin Donuts, Bath and Body Works, and Visa Silver and Wrapped Bow Silver gift cards. 

Beauty

Rite Aid’s beauty section has a wide assortment of products and sub-departments that can fulfill all your beauty needs in one place. 

Here, you can choose products for hair care and related accessories, face, eye, lip, makeup, nail care, men’s and women’s grooming, skincare, perfumes and cologne, and sunscreens.

Vitamins and Supplements 

Over-the-counter medications and supplements have become a lifesaver in today’s hustle culture.

Rite Aid offers all your over-the-counter needs in one place. These include Multivitamins, Supplements, Vitamins A through K, immunity, fish oil and omega, sleep and stress supplements, probiotics and probiotics, vitamins for kids, and energy supplements. 

Baby, Kids, and Toys 

This department is a big relief for parents. You can enjoy the convenience of buying almost everything related to your child’s needs at Rite Aid. 

The products include baby bath and skincare, diapers and wipes, nursing and feeding, children’s medicine and health, children’s oral care, toys, and games. 

Diet and Fitness

This place is especially good for all the gym and fitness lovers out there.

Rite Aid offers everything you may need to ensure great workout sessions. These products include protein drinks, energy and nutrition bars, diet aids and weight loss supplements, fitness accessories, exercise equipment, and much more.

Household

Moving into a new home? Wanna change up the looks of your home? Rite Aid’s household department has you covered.

Rite Aid has everything you may need for your home, ranging from appliances, home decor, cleaning equipment, outdoor and garden accessories, party supplies, pest control, laundry care, and much more. 

Pets 

Give your pets the love they deserve with the help of Rite Aid. They offer everything your pets may need, from food, supplies, toys, bedding, treats, and more.

Groceries

Throwing a party? In the mood for grabbing a bite? Rite aid has everything to solve that. Choose between food, beverages, snacks, and candy at their stores.

School and Office Supplies

Probably the favorite department of young students, the school and office supplies at Rite Aid have anything you may need to make your learning/work better. 

These products include arts and crafts, printers and ink, memory and storage cards, binders and folders, writing supplies, calculators, calendars, coloring supplies, notebooks, computers, desks, and their related accessories.

Sexual Wellness

Rite Aid offers everything you may need for trouble-free sex life. These include condoms, contraceptives or plan B, lubricants, moisturizers, enhancers, supplements, and home test kits. 

Is Rite Aid Expensive?

Before we discuss how expensive Rite Aid is, we’ll have to create some comparisons.

In comparison to Walmart, Costco, Kroger, etc, Rite Aid is definitely more expensive, depending on your needs.

You won’t notice a big difference in prices with everyday groceries, but medications and generic drugs at Rite Aid can be extremely expensive, compared to other similar stores like Walmart. 

We have also taken the time to go through the experience and reviews of many customers that have been to Rite Aid. 

Most users have given Rite Aid a low rating, and it lands at the 2-3 star category on most review sites. 

This low rating primarily stems from the costs at Rite Aid. Another important thing to note is that you may run into various issues with your insurance and may end up paying more out of your pocket. 

If small costs aren’t a problem for you, Rite Aid can be a really convenient way to get your month’s shopping done in one place. 

The same cannot be said about their pharmacy, however, since their prices may be higher and you may end up missing out on insurance benefits.

Is the customer service at Rite Aid good? 

Customer Service can be a tricky thing to measure for such a large brand since they have almost 2500 stores and 50,000 employees.

That said though, a large portion of the customer reviews we checked have mentioned the staff is quite rude and uncompassionate. 

Long testing times, insurance issues, missing medications, vaccination issues, and online order issues were among the most reported problems faced by Rite Aid customers spread throughout the US.

But having said that, it needs to be stated that customers rarely publish online reviews for large chains like Rite Aid unless they have a bad experience. In other words, online reviews alone are not a measure of Rite Aid’s customer service.

Payment Options 

Local Rite Aid stores have various payment options available. 

These include Visa, MasterCard, Discover Network, JC Penny, American Express (with membership rewards), Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay. 

Rite Aid also offers other financial solutions like Western Union, ATM, and Care Credit. 

The option to pay through EBT or food stamps has also been added recently.

Does Rite Aid Accept Insurance?

Yes, Rite Aid accepts most major Insurance plans at their stores. 

These include Tricare, Elixir Insurance, Express Scripts, Caremark, Cigna, Medi Impact, Medicaid, Humana, Medicare parts B and D, and many more.

How much does a Covid test cost at Rite Aid?

Rite Aid offers free Covid testing in partnership with the Department of Health and Human Services to anyone over the age of 4. Covid-19 tests are carried out in their drive-thru and same-day appointments are available too.

Covid vaccinations are free as well, and are available in Washington, Idaho, Oregon, California, Nevada, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusets, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Delaware, Mayland, and Virginia. 

Rite Aid also offers vaccination programs for schools, offices, and businesses.

Does Rite Aid sell insulin syringes?

Yes, you can purchase RiteAid Insulin Syringes at select stores with a valid prescription, but you won’t be able to order them online unless you sign up for their Pharmacy program. 

Does Rite Aid sell drug tests? 

Yes, you can purchase at-home drug test kits for legal and illicit drugs, and breath analyzers. 

These kits can range from 2 to 14 panels and they test for all the common drugs. 

One of the test kits also checks for a few prescription drugs like anti-depressants, pain killers, etc. 

What Foods does Rite Aid sell? 

You can find a wide assortment of packaged foods at Rite Aid. These include cereal, oatmeal, roll-ups, nutrition bars, canned foods, chocolates, pudding, pasta, juice, toppings, and much more. 

The Bottom Line 

From everything we’ve looked at so far, it’s easy to say that Rite Aid isn’t a bad place to shop for everyday products if you don’t care about small costs in exchange for convenience. 

The Pharmacy however is a completely different story. We’ve seen multiple reports of people not receiving medications on time, running into issues with insurance coverage, and having a bad time in general. 

Prescriptions meds are necessary for the survival of some people, which is why we don’t recommend Rite Aid as your go-to choice for them as you’ll end up dealing with more troubles in the long run. 

Prescriptions are also something you wouldn’t want to take your chances with.

Running into insurance troubles could mean not being able to afford your meds, which is obviously something we would like to avoid. 

We hope we were able to help you decide if Rite Aid is the right choice for you.

Reference:

  1. https://www.riteaid.com/
Anand Srinivasan
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