• Buying medications online: Younger consumers in particular are sceptical about quality – more than half of all Germans would like to see stricter rules for more safety in the transport of pharmaceuticals – creating trust: Over-the-counter pharmacies can gain an advantage by providing advice

Weinheim, 3 April 2022. Just nipping out to get some cough syrup from the corner pharmacist, or quickly going to the emergency pharmacy on duty at night for some anti-nausea medicine. Especially in the cities, there is always a place to go for medications – but will they always be there? Pharmacies are also finding they are having to adapt and learn to live with the competition from the Internet. They now want to offer more service, according to the current campaign “Simply there for you”. Order online, pick up at your trusted pharmacist or even have it delivered.

But what is the public opinion, how sustainable are pharmacies today and what do young people think?

72 per cent of Germans still buy their pharmaceuticals in a traditional pharmacy. This was the result of a representative INSA survey* commissioned by trans-o-flex. Not surprisingly, the proportion increases with age.

And what about young people?

You would think that online pharmacies would be particularly popular with younger people. But especially in the group of 18 to 29-year-olds, trust in ordering from the Internet is not quite as high as expected. 38 per cent of 18-year-olds in the survey said they had no confidence in online pharmacies. Among 29-year-olds, the figure was 34 per cent. The key question among the sceptics in this age group is that of quality. While 77 per cent of the survey participants assume that medications from online pharmacies are of the same quality as in over-the-counter pharmacies, only 67 per cent of 18-year-olds are convinced of this.

The respondents are also sceptical about the issue of transport. Only just under half (45 per cent) believe that the transport of medications is monitored as strictly as the transport of food.

“There are also standards, norms and quality seals for the transport and storage of medications, but not to a sufficient extent. Moreover, these are difficult for the consumers themselves to comprehend. This is where politicians have a duty to make improvements,” says Wolfgang P. Albeck, CEO of trans-o-flex, a specialised logistics company for the transport of pharmaceuticals.

The absolute majority of 52 per cent of Germans would like to see measures to increase the safety of pharmaceuticals in the mail order business during transport.

trans-o-flex CEO Wolfgang P. Albeck: “Advice should not only be given on the medications, but it also builds trust regarding origin, transport route, safety during transport and certificates. People also want this security, and pharmacies can meet this need. Pharmacists can do that too.”

* For the representative survey, a total of 1002 people from Germany aged 18 and over were interviewed on 13 January 2023. The survey was conducted as an online questionnaire. The survey is supported by the ongoing telephone research INSA Perpetua Demoscopia.