Why the Online Pharmacy Trend Has Continued Beyond the Pandemic

Ever ordered medicine online because it was more convenient than leaving your home when you were sick? Or simply stocked up on your go-to health products by ordering from an online store, which allowed you to go about your day uninterrupted? If so, then you have participated in the online pharmacy trend.

Online pharmacies are a worldwide phenomenon. The top 10 ranking includes domains from companies based all over the world, but there are different reasons for their success, specific to each region.

Online Pharmacies Address Pharmacy Deserts in Mature eCommerce Markets

The performance of most online pharmacies surged during the pandemic, but their success continued due to factors characteristic of each region of operation.

Two countries with the highest number of stores in the top 10 online pharmacy ranking are the United States and Germany. The first two positions belong to the online stores walgreens.com and cvs.com, both domains of large drugstores in the U.S. They generate the highest revenues with more than US$2 billion and US$1.6 billion, respectively, and have held their leading positions in this field for years.

In fact, every online pharmacy in the top 5 has maintained its ranking position since 2020, as is shown by apteka.ru and the two German online stores shop-apotheke.com and docmorris.de. All of these online stores are thriving long after the pandemic as they address contemporary issues that are common in Europe and North America. One of the major issues driving the success of online pharmacies is the reduction of physical pharmacies in markets like the United States and Germany.

A current wave of closures is creating “pharmacy deserts” in certain regions, fueled by cost challenges, geographic isolation, demographics characteristics and workforce shortages. While that is bad news for consumers and stakeholders, online pharmacies offer a solution to the reduction trend.

Online Pharmacies Provide Access in Burgeoning Markets

From the 6th place downward, shifts in the ranking are more frequent. A major upward trend has been observed with drogaraia.com.br, which made the leap from 18th place in 2020 to 6th place in 2023. The Brazilian online pharmacy is similar in this respect to the Mexican domain fahorro.com, which ascended from 25th place in 2020 to 8th place in 2023.

Similar to nahdionline.com in Saudi Arabia and drmax.ro in Romania, the Latin American online pharmacies are flourishing for different reasons. The most common factor in their success is that they provide access to medicines for populations that were previously not included in the market. Rather than supplementing a declining structure, these online pharmacies are contributing to new structures in a growing eCommerce market.

The structural factor accounts for the high rise of the Latin American online stores drogaraia.com.br and fahorro.com, while the steady placement of the higher ranking stores is more reflective of the maturity observed in online economies like the U.S. and Germany.