Drugs, purchases boom during the lockdown: +220%

Fedaisf editorial staff

June 27, 2020

The Farmakom survey also outlines the profile of the average buyer: a woman, aged between 50 and 60, residing in Lombardy

La Repubblica Economia & finanza – 26 giugno 2020

In the first four months of 2020, online sales of drugs and medical devices were 220% higher compared to the same period of the previous year. It is one of the side effects of the pandemic: Italians at home during the lockdown tried to limit outings as much as possible and, although pharmacies have never closed, the convenience of the web has prevailed for over-the-counter medicines, supplements and medical devices. The other reason for this three-digit increase is that Italy has been short of masks for two months. Precisely these protective devices have had a decisive influence on the volume of sales made via the web. But in general, it's all about e-commerce to have had a boom in recent months.

(… continua su Economy & Finance)

The most purchased over-the-counter medicines so far (in this case we are talking about the first half of the year) are antihistamines, bacterial flora supplements, even three against constipation, chewing gum to stop smoking and only one to treat cold symptoms while , in 2019, three medicines useful for treating colds and flu symptoms appeared in the top 10. Sales are also driven by supplements, for which he had already registered a big increase in April but whose purchase must always be carefully evaluated also considering the rather high average costs of these products.