Buy Natural Health Supplement Articles & Resources

While price might be the most important factor for consumers who buy dietary supplements, it is a lack of information that seems to keep most non-users from participating in the category. According to a recent exclusive Drug Store News survey, non-supplement users outnumber users by about 8-to-1. Bridging the information gap for these non-users in the category is an excellent opportunity to significantly grow the business in natural health.

This spells significant opportunity for the drug store operator willing to leverage a knowledgeable pharmacist against the supplement category Given the range of health conditions that can develop from the nutritional deficiencies created by certain maintenance prescription drugs and that pharmacy patients are most likely to talk to their pharmacists about how these medications are likely to affect them, this is essentially money left sitting on the table. Almost two-thirds of pharmacy patients turn to their pharmacists first for this type of information. Yet more than half of all pharmacy patients say they routinely come into the drug store to pick up their prescriptions--many once a month or more--and walk out with nothing more than that.

Almost 6-out-of-10 pharmacy customers said they had tried supplements in the past but stopped, most often because they didn't notice any benefit. Another 19 percent have never used supplements. Clearly many of these respondents are acting on a lack of good information.

Of those pharmacy patients who don't take supplements, 1-in-4 said they felt they get all the nutrition they need from the foods they eat. According to . Senate research conducted in the late 1990s, more than 90 percent of Americans do not get all the nutrients needed from their diets.

Converting non-users to users may be a long process. In the short-term, drug store operators may want to explore opportunities to steal customers from other channels by playing a smarter version of the prize game, perhaps through the development of a discount loyalty program for natural health. A full 8-in-10 consumers surveyed said that such a program would have a major role in their decision to shop the drug store for vitamins and supplements.

For the survey, Drug Store News polled 673 pharmacy customers via e-mail. The data was collected and analyzed by , an research partner of Drug Store News.

Top 5 reasons why shoppers buy supplements where they do

Price 44%
Selection 12%
Supplement information 7%
Knowledgeable staff 6%
Convenience 5%

Source: Drug Store News/

Note: Table made from bar graph
Where customers fill their prescriptions

Chain drug stores 42%
Supermarkets 17%
Independent pharmacies 14%
Discounters 11%
Mail order 7%
Hospital pharmacy 6%
Other 3%

Note: Table made from pie chart
Respondents' top chronic conditions treated with OTCs

Allergy/allergic rhinitis 18%
High blood pressure 18
Depression 14
Bone/joint problems 9
Pain (other than arthritis) 9
Anxiety 8
Diabetes 8
Lower back pain 8
Migraine headaches 8
Heartburn/ulcer/GERD 7
Who do patients consult concerning prescriptions?

Pharmacist 64%
Doctor 16%
Other (including family/ 20%
 friends/media)

Note: Table made from bar graph
Dietary supplement usage

Current users 23%
Lapsed users 58%
Never used 19%

Source: Drug Store News/

Note: Table made from bar graph
<

										
Search





Enter your search terms

Submit search form

















/pre>