According to the report, it has the largest share of total traffic in the networks studied Rossmann, which increases the advantage over the competition. In addition, the market penetration index rose in three out of the four networks surveyed.
Within twelve months, the number of visits to the vetted pharmacy chains decreased. Proxi.cloud analysts and UCE RESEARCH collected and analyzed detailed data from monitoring the behavior of more than one million consumers who visited nearly 2.3 thousand. in the period from October 2021 to September 2022 and compare it with those of the previous twelve months. The search covered brands like Rossmann, Hebe, Super Pharm, and Natura.
– The decline in the pharmacy sector may be directly related to the decrease in traffic in shopping centersWhere these chains have the largest stores. These statistics can also be affected by changes in buying habits. Some people may not buy cosmetics or drugstore products as often and in quantities as before the period of high inflation. Poles reduce their expenditure on unnecessary things, and a frequent purchase of such an assortment can become a luxury. At the same time, pharmacy operators feel more pressure in carrying out tasks related to attracting new customers, with both better promotions and more effective communication – comments Michał Rosiak from the technology company Proxi.cloud.
Looking at the detailed data, it should be noted that the highest y/y level. A decrease in the number of visits was recorded in the Hebe network – by 23.9%. Only on a slightly smaller minus is Natura – 23.1%, and Super-Pharm – 20.2%. On the other hand, Rossmann scored 5.8% fewer visits.
– In our opinion, trade in pharmacy chains will decrease in the near future. The pre-holiday period may be an exception. However, right after Christmas, the downward trend will return, which may continue until the middle of next year. Of course, the traffic itself should not affect the lower expenses of Poles in pharmacies. However, looking at what is happening in the economy today, you can already see that Poles are starting to save on goods that are not called the first need – says Bowie Kolodzig, consumer sector analyst at UCE RESEARCH.
The report also shows that the four networks surveyed registered on an annual basis. Reduction in the number of unique customers. And anyway with a two-digit value. The biggest drawback in this regard is nature – 41 per cent. It is followed by Rossmann – 34.9 percent, Hebe – 32.9 percent. and Super-Pharm at 21.6%.
– Here we see an even larger decrease in data on traffic to individual networks. This shows that during the analyzed periods there was an increase in the average number of visits per customer and the average frequency of purchases – adds Michał Rosiak.
As the analyst from UCE RESEARCH confirms, according to these data, the largest decrease in the number of visits and unique customers was observed during the closing periods, that is, in November 2020 and January 2021. On the other hand, the largest increase was recorded in May 2021, which was associated with the recovery of the economy after restrictions and return to the relative natural state.
– After the increase in May 2021, a downward trend can be observed in the case of visits and unique customers of pharmacy stores. This may be related to a change in buying habits. The temporary jump in the first half of last year could mean a temporary outpouring of enthusiasm and a desire to leave their homes, says Iwona Kołodziejek of technology company Proxi.cloud.
In addition, we know from the study what the shares of individual pharmacies in the total traffic of the studied networks looked like. Rossman is the undisputed leader, with a score of 68.6% recently (a year ago – 64.1%). Then there’s Hebe – 13.6 per cent. (Previous period – 15.7%), Nature – 12.1%. (13.8%) and Super Pharm – 5.7%. (6.4 percent).
– Only Rossman showed an increase in his share of the movement. Here there was a change of 4.5 pages and this means that this series increases its competitive advantage in the periods analyzed. On the other hand, Hebei recorded the largest decline in shares – by 2.1 points per page and Natura – by 1.7 points, Mikhailo Rossak said.
The study authors also provide a market penetration indicator. According to Iwona Kołodziejek, the Rossmann chain recorded the highest penetration of the pharmacy market, increasing it by 1.7 points. On the other hand, the lowest percentage of all pharmacy customers come to Super Pharm outlets. First, it was more than 25%, and recently it has risen to more than 31%.
– The largest increase, compared to the analyzed periods, was observed in the Super Pharm series – approximately 6 pages. Hebe comes in second – 2.6 pages, Rossman comes in third – 1.7 pages, and the last series is close to 100%. This means that nearly every customer at the pharmacy shopped at Rossmann at least once in the analyzed period. On the other hand, Natura recorded a decrease in the index by 3.9 percentage points – summed up Michał Rosiak from the technology company Proxi.cloud.
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