The most influential Megatrends set to shape the world through 2030, identified by Euromonitor International, help businesses better anticipate market developments and lead change for their industries.
Learn moreEuromonitor addresses your unique questions and challenges across all B2B and B2C industries and geographies through custom, tailor-made research projects, designed to your specific goals.
Learn moreMar 2018
US$1,325Added to Cart
If you purchase a report that is updated in the next 60 days, we will send you the new edition and data extract FREE!
If you purchase a report that is updated in the next 60 days, we will send you the new edition and data extract FREE!
Internet retailing is the fastest growing distribution channel for OTC consumer health products worldwide. Consumers are increasingly moving toward the use of digital platforms for convenience and speed in delivery, which fit consumers’ busy lives. Yet e-commerce still represents only a very small proportion of total OTC sales, and manufacturers have been slow to adjust how they market and sell OTC products online away from strategies rooted in their longstanding store-based retail approaches.
Files are delivered directly into your account within a few minutes of purchase.
Gain competitive intelligence about market leaders. Track key industry trends, opportunities and threats. Inform your marketing, brand, strategy and market development, sales and supply functions.
Internet sales of OTCs are still only a very small proportion of total OTC sales. While digital purchases are in general growing very quickly, OTCs have been slower to move into this space for two main reasons: first, consumers are used to buying OTCs at bricks and mortar outlets, and changing long standing habits takes time; second, the need for OTCs is reactive. Consumers don’t purchase them ahead of time because they don’t plan to fall ill, and when they do need them, they need them immediately.
The proliferation of direct delivery services has given consumers the option of having medicines delivered to them within a delivery window of as soon as an hour in many metropolitan areas in the US. However, it’s unclear how many consumers are likely to utilise this option given the immediacy of their particular need, and the widespread availability of the bricks and mortar outlets with which consumers are already familiar.
One exception to these trends is Germany, where digital purchases of OTCs have exploded over the past 20 years. A number of factors have contributed to this growth, including the fact that Germany allows Rx drugs to be shipped via mail, the option of having drugs delivered from a neighbouring country at much lower cost, and the commitment of direct-seller DocMorris to fighting the legal battles necessary to gain control of the German e-commerce market.
The global market for OTCs is generally static, and what new market space there is for OTC products is occurring through online channels. While the space here is still small, it is an easy space to move into, and it is in manufacturers’ best interests to learn how to sell effectively online, or risk getting left behind in the future.
Gain competitive intelligence about market leaders. Track key industry trends, opportunities and threats. Inform your marketing, brand, strategy and market development, sales and supply functions.