How Online Medical Stores Are Revolutionizing The Way We Purchase Medicines
For many of you that have gotten sick over the course of your life, nothing feels as tiring as having to get out of your comfy bed and head to the nearest pharmacy in order to buy medicine. Lets face it, getting sick brings out the laziness in anyone; however, despite the fact that you would want to do anything other than get out of bed and buy medicine, you still need to in order to get better. Fortunately, with the popularization of the online shopping comes the introduction of online medical stores in India like Big Chemist which enables people to shop for their medicines without ever leaving the comfort of their bed. You can almost hear sick people with internet access and a credit card all across India practically praising the idea.
What Makes Online Medical Stores Different?
The main advantage of online medical stores, as explained by Nerd Wallet, is that they are far more convenient as compared to their physical counterparts. While it may be true that you will not be able to get the medicine immediately, there are delivery options wherein you can get the medicine within a week or even the next day. This is particularly advantageous for people that are bedridden and don’t have the strength to get up and get the medicine that they need. Aside from this, there also individuals those are simply far too busy to be bothered when it comes to going to the closest pharmacy. This is either due to their responsibilities or simply because they have far too much work on their hands. Being able to purchase what they need online is a luxury that may would undoubtedly latch on to for the simple fact that it allows them to save time.
Are They More Economical?
Another of the advantages associated with utilizing online stores to buy medicine is the fact that they are much cheaper to buy online as compared to purchasing them at a physical store. One of the reasons behind this is simple economics wherein the lack of a storefront combined with lower costs associated with having to pay for a pharmacist, teller and electricity for the store allows online stores to sell their products at a much cheaper price. While Pharmacy Checker Blog states that accessibility to the shop is limited to individuals that have internet access and credit cards in order to purchase their products, the fact remains that buying online is definitely better.
You’ll want to be aware that the one major disadvantage of this method is that it is rather rare for online stores to have same-day delivery options and, as such, for individuals that need to get their medicine immediately, relying on an online store would not be feasible.
Issues with Authenticity
Despite all the different advantages that were just mentioned, Consumer Reports states that there are still some issues when it comes to the supposed authenticity of the medicine the people buy online. While online stores have been growing in popularity, online medical stores have yet to achieve sufficient mainstream acceptability due to a lack of confidence in the quality of the medicine that was purchased.
The reasoning behind this is connected to institutional theory which states that people are more liable to stick to old institutions despite their inefficiency simply because they have been around longer and are thus “supposedly” more reliable. This is despite the presence of new institutions that are much more efficient in their operations yet lack the needed “age” for consumers to trust their products or services. When applying this particular theory on the actions of Indian consumers, it can be seen that it make sense as to why online medical store have yet to become sufficiently popular. People are wary and even scared about these new “institutions” and are unlikely to accept them unless sufficient time has passed to show that they are effective sources for medicine.
What Does the Future Have in Store?
Given the current shift towards online retail? It is likely that online medical stores will be able to reach mainstream compatibility in the near future as more people become more accepting of buying their medicine online instead of in physical stores. However, this brings up the question of what may happen to physical stores in the future? They are likely to continue to exist since not everyone has internet access in India; however, this may result in what can only be described as an unfair cultural disadvantage wherein only people with internet access and credit cards would be able to purchase more affordable medication as compared to their poorer counterparts.
The best advice that can be given when it comes to shopping online is that if a deal seems to good to be true then it most likely is. Use your common sense when purchasing items and you can’t go wrong.
