Over the past year, the pandemic has exponentially shifted shopping on the web. Also for pharmacy products. The price factor is certainly to weigh, as online they are 23% lower, then the confidentiality, the convenience of receiving drugs, supplements, masks, etc. directly at home counts.
New entry, over-the-counter products
A sector that had a real boom in the early months of 2020, but remains a trend also in 2021. At the same time, counterfeiting of medicines through unauthorized channels is growing online, as Aifa announces that, recently , recorded an increase in reports of the phenomenon from citizens, associations and companies in the sector of products purchased online that were falsified or illegal and draws attention to the risks associated with this type of purchase. And, for the first time, the problem also concerns wellness products, such as anti-cellulite creams from the best-known brands.
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Even homeopaths can be bought online
The growth of online purchases also affects homeopathic medicines. As revealed by a survey conducted by Doxapharma, today 1 Italian out of 2 of the sample of online buyers considered, buys up to 8 products a year online. What attracts web users is the possibility of finding promotions, but also the greater breadth of the offer and the availability of products. And many are turning to foreign channels.
“Those who buy online on foreign sites do so for more than 30% of the homeopathic medicines they need on average during the year – specifies Gadi Schoenheit, vice president of Doxapharma – But in one case out of 3, the purchase in other markets is forced, driven by the impossibility of finding the product you are looking for in Italy ».
The first country of reference for Italian pharmaceutical expenses is Germany (31%), followed by France (24%) and only in third position is Italy. But as with drugs, buying online from non-certified sites is not sure of the origin, content and conservation status of what you buy. Not only.