The pharmaceutical sector is the strongest industry online in 2022
Among negative development figures, there is one industry that has stood strong – the pharmacy industry grew by 10 percent in 2022.
The industry showed strongly positive development figures in all quarters, despite high comparative figures during the pandemic. The interest in buying pharmacy products online is clear, for example, Apotea once again tops the list of consumers' e-commerce favorites. An important part of the online pharmacy's success is that more and more older consumers became accustomed to ordering their goods online during the pandemic, and have continued to do so ever since.
Today, merchandise accounts for a fifth of the industry's turnover, and many of the major pharmacy players are focusing on broadening that part of the range. For example, Apoteket has chosen to switch up its online investment in 2023 and is opening a new e-commerce warehouse of just over 2,000 square meters this summer. This gives them an opportunity to expand the range significantly.
Despite strong growth figures, the future is not completely secured for online pharmacies. The Swedish Medicines Agency has recently proposed new rules regarding home delivery of medicines with the aim of increasing safety and reducing the risk of theft. For example, there are proposals for stricter requirements for ID checks when handing over, as well as introducing a ban on leaving drug deliveries outside the door. This type of regulation would certainly have consequences for online pharmacies. Apotea's founder Pär Svärdson estimates that around half of the company's deliveries would be affected by the new proposals, which makes the issue highly relevant for the online pharmacy's future development.
Source: The E-barometern 2022
