Rome, April 19 (beraking latest news Salute) – More and more Italians are buying homeopathic medicines online, and the pandemic has pushed this trend. This is what emerges from a survey conducted by Doxapharma for Omeoimprese, the association that represents the homeopathic pharmaceutical sector in Italy. Today, one Italian out of 2 of the sample of online buyers examined buys up to 8 products per year on this channel. Whoever does it – according to the survey – has an average age of 44 years, 61% are women, and declares to be more or less connected in 72% of cases, especially thanks to a smartphone.
What attracts web users is the possibility of finding promotions, but the greater breadth of the offer and the availability of products also play a central role. “The downside – explains in a note the president of Omeoimprese, Giovanni Gorga – is the lack of advice from the pharmacist. The relationship between consumer and health professional remains fortunately a fixed point for many Italians, so much so that the Pharmacy channel remains the privileged one. So that this reality does not lose ground with respect to the web, we appeal to the associations and orders of pharmacists so that quality professional updating never fails, even in the field of complementary medicines “.
An important acceleration of pharmaceutical e-shopping comes from the Covid-19 pandemic, which led to online purchases even those who were anchored to physical channels. But there is more: if 94% of respondents will continue to buy online, 1 in 3 think that this trend is destined to grow.
What e-commerce lacks – emphasizes Omeoimprese in the note – is targeted advice, so much so that the survey shows an appeal by consumers to companies to provide more information and support dedicated to homeopathic products. Something that is not allowed in Italy, however, and which could therefore benefit foreign markets. “In our country, unlike in the rest of Europe – attacks Gorga – the law prohibits providing therapeutic indications, while abroad it is normal to find the package leaflet in the package of a homeopathic medicine. It is a drug, and how this is managed in the interest of the end user. Because all over-the-counter products, from antipyretic to analgesic to antiallergic, are accompanied by a leaflet that illustrates their correct use and the risks of improper intake, while our products are not? ”, he asks.
“This is a big gap – he denounces – which must be promptly bridged by the Italian government because it brings turnover losses to small and medium-sized enterprises and, consequently, lost tax revenue to the treasury. Even if this sector represents just over 1% of the pharmaceutical market, contributes every year to the state coffers with 50 million euros in taxes, employs about 2,000 employees and, especially in the months of the pandemic, rain subsidies, jobs in the balance, has always ensured economic stability to their workers “.
Doxapharma then dedicates a large chapter to the foreign channel in the survey. Those who buy online on foreign sites – it emerges – do so for over 30% of the homeopathic medicines they need on average during the year. But in 1 out of 3 cases, 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 expenditure is Germany (31%), followed by France (24%). “It is no coincidence – concludes Gorga – that these are the first two markets of homeopathy, followed by Italy which, unfortunately, still today, has to clash with some prejudices”.