Buying decision between offline and online medicines – a comparative study

E-commerce in healthcare and pharmaceuticals is profoundly soaring, which is helping in expansion of both the online and offline availability of choices of purchasing medicines to the consumers. This step is eventually helping the Indian pharmaceutical Industry to cater to the needs of the consumers in a broader manner. The convenience provided by e-medicines is enabling the drift of the patients towards the online ordering modes from the offline ones, especially after the heightened users of World Wide Web now. More percentage of people have started using this advanced practice frequently like the elderly, disabled and the ones living in remote areas but still there is a prodigious segment of society which is dependent on the traditional way out of getting medicines from pharmacies and relies on it. There have been observed certain instances of fake and incomplete information being displayed at these sites of “Internet Pharmacies” and applications about the drugs and medicines rendering them unethical. Moreover, it can be seen that the Internet prescribing cannot replace the actual physician’s treatment of the patient, because patients still are at risk of irrefutable drug interactions and side-effects with the online treatment methodology. Purpose: Attempt to investigate the buying decision between offline and online medicines in India and is there any risk associated with buying medicines through these sources. Design/Methdology: This study explored the behaviour of people towards the online pharmacies and the physical pharmacies. Which among them, people tend to prefer for their regular medicine purchase in whole of the India. The study is conclusive in nature and a casual research design was used to identify the behaviour and preference of people towards the online pharmacies and the physical pharmacies. The study had a Qualitative angle as well, as the behaviour of the buyers/ consumers is also involved. Descriptive nature of study is there to analyse and understand the behaviour and factors that led to this preference of consumers.