Ukrainians Buying Medicines Online Increasingly More Frequently

Over the last year, 26% of citizens started ordering any goods online more often, while the total share of Ukrainians who made a purchase in online stores at least once reached 92%.*

As researchers found, events related to the health of loved ones are among the five biggest fears of Ukrainians about the future. For 60% of respondents, good health - their own and that of their relatives - is in the first place among intangible dreams. Therefore, it is not surprising that among all the categories of goods that are most often purchased online, medicines are in 6th place after traditional clothing, household appliances, electronics, hygiene products and cosmetics.

As previously reported, a study by Gradus Research commissioned by Darnitsa Pharmaceutical Company** showed that, in order to buy medicines, the vast majority of people (81%) visit pharmacies directly, while 61% of respondents book drugs online in advance through the Internet. And only 15% of people order medicines with home delivery.

Given that the opportunity to order medicines online with delivery appeared in Ukraine only in March 2020, the demand is growing rapidly. Quarantine requirements have significantly accelerated the development of e-commerce in the field of pharmacy. According to the reference guide “Pharmaceutical Industry of Ukraine 2021”, the share of online retailing in the pharmaceutical market will grow rapidly. It was 7% in 2021 and is projected to reach at least 15% in five years.

Apart from the pandemic, the development of online orders for medicines is promoted by factors such as lower prices due to advance booking and the ability to pre-check the availability of goods and compare prices in different pharmacies.

Background Information

Darnitsa Pharmaceutical Company PrJSC was established in 1930. Since 1998, Darnitsa has been the leader in Ukraine in terms of production of drugs by volume. Strategic areas of the portfolio development are cardiology, neurology, pain management. During 2016-2021, Darnitsa launched 63 pharmaceutical brands.

*Research by GradusResearch “Trends of 2021”

**Research by GradusResearch commissioned by Darnitsa Pharmaceutical Company, 1517 interviews, men and women aged from 18 to 60 years residing in Kharkiv, Kyiv, Lviv, Odesa, Zaporizhzhia and Dnipro, November 2-8, 2021.