- January 22, 2025
The spending of Poles on products sold in pharmacies without a prescription is growing. Sales of these products do not increase significantly in volume, but their average price is increasing. Many new products are also entering the market, which is accompanied by intensive promotional campaigns, so customers are willing to spend more. This is particularly evident in the segment of dietary supplements.
- Poles consume a lot of over-the-counter products. We are one of the leaders in this respect. This does not mean, however, that we buy a lot more, rather we spend a lot more and choose other products - says Newseria Jarosław Frąckowiak, President of PharmaExpert. - The assortment is growing, the price of packaging is rising, there are new products, as well as TV advertising, which is very effective, especially in the case of dietary supplements, as well as dermocosmetics and OTC products.
According to PharmaExpert data, Poles spend more and more money in pharmacies. Last year they spent over PLN 11.5 billion on over-the-counter products. Within five months of this year, the value of sales exceeded PLN 5 billion (an increase of nearly 4.5%).
The most popular products sold without a prescription are cold, dermocosmetics, digestive and analgesics. On the other hand, the sales of dietary supplements recorded a lower growth dynamics. However, PMR experts estimate that in 2017-2020 the market will grow at a rate of approx. 8 per cent annually (pharmacy and non-pharmacy sales).
The latest PharmaExpert data for the first 12th day of July show that the OTC drugs market has fallen by 0.3% and the supplements market by 4% compared to last year. The segment of the pharmacy market, which recorded a significant growth, was cosmetics - by 2.2%.
- It is a very lucrative market - there are large margins and the needs of customers have been skillfully awakened, so in fact more and more of these products are sold," explains Jarosław Frąckowiak. - The dermocosmetics market is becoming more and more economical. Quantitatively, but not so much in value terms, because more and more brands are appearing at more affordable prices.
However, the premium segment is still growing well. Poles spend about PLN 1.4 billion annually on dermocosmetics. Year on year, sales grow by several percent.
Statistics for the first months of the year allow for forecasting over 5% growth of the entire pharmaceutical market. In 2015 - according to the latest estimates of PharmaExpert - Poles will buy drugs worth PLN 30 billion in pharmacies.
