Traditional Pharmacies and Internet Pharmacies | Miki's Hope

Traditional Pharmacies and Internet Pharmacies

Thursday, November 5, 2015

picture from www.dreamstime.com


Like any other industry, the pharmaceutical industry has changed a lot in the last couple of years. Similar to other companies, pharmacies had to implement internet options allowing people to purchase products from their home. Some organizations managed to adapt to this newfound situation, some of them not as much. At the same time, we have seen steady increases in the number of online pharmacies all over the world. This is not particularly surprising given the high profit margins of medicines. Thus, we have seen a clash between traditional and new online shops.

Traditional pharmacies
have existed for decades. Most of them are very popular in their neighborhood because they are synonymous with good health, friendly service and caring pharmacists who will answer any and all questions about the medications and the interactions between all that the person is taking. Keeping in mind their importance, they enjoyed a lot of respect. Naturally, with the introduction of online shopping, most of them had to convert and open webpages with appropriate services. This was the only way to remain relevant in the changing market. However, this doesn’t mean that it improved their business. In fact, most of traditional shops have seen a decline in profits. First and foremost, they had to create webpages, which meant they had to pay additional workers and the additional costs that accompany selling over the internet. At the same time, most of them continued working with the same clientele. This meant that they couldn’t cover the costs which are accompanied by adding an internet option.

Also, most of the pharmacies were making a large profit on items such as cosmetics and supplements. If you had a good pharmacist, this profit could be even larger. These are the products which can be used by anyone and it is easy to persuade someone to buy them even though they came in only for prescription drugs. Without that social interaction and influence of direct marketing, customers are no longer inclined to buy more than they need. This resulted in lower sales in traditional pharmacies. Internet pharmacies are all those companies which are doing business exclusively over the internet. Seeing opportunity in this, many entrepreneurs decided to open their own online shops and start selling medicines to a larger number of customers. These new stores have numerous benefits.

Instead of having drugs in numerous places, they can store everything in just one spot. Specialists from You! Drugstore underline importance of this because it significantly reduces costs and allows companies to track inventory much better. Certainly, it is a big advantage over traditional stores. Have in mind that most of the internet pharmacies were developed by people who have some experience with internet sales. This gave them an inherent advantage over owners of old, traditional stores. Because of this, they managed to position better on search engines and make a name for themselves in a very short time. But, even though there are numerous advantages to them, shoppers need to be careful when buying drugs from a firm which is doing business exclusively over the internet.

Due to this massive influx of new companies, some of them entered the game without proper documentation. There are still
many legal loop holes when it comes to this business allowing them to pass through unpunished. Because of this, you need to be careful when purchasing online and order only from companies that have the necessary certificates.





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14 comments :

annies home said...

As an individual that must take medications as well as with a family that I must take care of the pharmacy has been a go to place for quite a while. I have visited online pharmacies but never used them before thanks for your post it is very interesting. Thanks you for sharing
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Cindy S said...

That photo looks just like my small town ;) gotta love the small-town USA...

Unknown said...

We checked into online pharmacies when we got tired of the grocery store pharmacy but then we got lucky and found a home town pharmacy run by one pharmacist who is personable, friendly, knowledgeable, and affordable!
We love him and his pharmacy.
HOWEVER if he were to close down I would go with online before going back to the grocery store for our needs!

Scott said...

I haven't made the jump to buying online yet. There are so many fly-by-night ones, and I want to make sure they're selling the real stuff.

Eileen said...

I love my pharmacy - but I do have to wait on long lines someimes. Ny medical is always calling for us to go online

Ourfamilyworld said...

I do shop online, but I've never tried buying meds online. I think we should check the company well before buying drugs online.

Jeanine said...

I don't shop online much, but when I do it wouldn't be for meds. I like going in, reading the packages and seeing what is what. I don't think I'd enjoy buying meds online.

Unknown said...

It seems like it would be very convenient! Thankfully, we are not at the point where we purchase many medications at all...yet :)

Unknown said...

I haven't used online pharmacies yet, but I'm sure I'll use their services in the future. It sounds more comfortable and faster than the traditional pharmacie.

Unknown said...

Wow, such informative information! Thank you so much for sharing :-D

Saidah said...

When I moved to the south and saw the chain drugstore pharmacies I was taken aback. Wher I grew up there was nothing for sale in the pharmacy. You came to get your medicine in a small storefront and that was it.

Tough Cookie Mommy said...

I've never ordered medicines from an Internet pharmacy. I think it's convenient to have more than one option.

Liz Mays said...

I've always been leery to use online pharmacies. The only thing I've done so far is set up a refill online.

CourtneyLynne said...

Honestly I don't really take medications (I've been lucky so far ;-) ) so I haven't really used online pharmacies. All the scripts I've ever had to fill here for emergency situations that need to be filled immediately

 
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