Recently, Ms. Gao, a reader, sent a consultation to the "Reporter Gang" of Qianjiang Evening News: Why is it cheaper to buy medicine online than offline?
Recently, it was a high incidence of influenza, and Ms. Gao wanted to prepare some common medicines. She went to a pharmacy she frequented, only to be told that one of the medicines she wanted was out of stock. A colleague gave her a tip: she can order online, which is not only trouble-free but also cheap.
After opening the takeaway software and checking it, Ms. Gao found that the medicine was indeed much cheaper than the offline one. "A box is 10 yuan short, and the vitamins are even more exaggerated, nearly 20 yuan cheaper. Ms. Gao couldn't help but ask, why are online drug prices so much cheaper than offline?
The retail price of the same drug.
It's basically the same in each brick-and-mortar store.
With Ms. Gao's questions, the reporter first visited several pharmacies in Hangzhou.
Among the stores visited by the reporter, there are three 999 brand compound cold spirit granules, and the price of 15 bags and a box is 35 yuan. The remaining five pharmacies have 9 bags of 999 brand cold spirit granules, all priced at 18 yuan a box.
Among the five stores that sell 12 capsules of 999 cold spirit capsules, except for one that costs 28 yuan a box, the other four are all priced at 27 yuan.
The difference between the 24 Lianhua Qingwen capsules is slightly larger, and the lowest price in one store is 127 yuan a box, ** the highest two stores are priced at 16$8.
Overall, there is little difference in the number of medicines** in different offline pharmacies.
The price discount of drugs on the platform is "limited to one copy".
Add a delivery fee.
So, is there a price difference between the top and offline drugs of the same pharmacy?
The reporter chose two pharmacies that settled on the online platform for further understanding, and found that the price of 999 brand compound cold spirit granules in the physical store was 35 yuan a box was 25 on Ele.me1 yuan, the price on Meituan is 18$9. The price of a bottle of 120 tablets in a physical store is 95 yuan, and the ** of 21 gold vita multivitamin element tablets on both platforms is 785 yuan, and the arrival price is marked as 72$5 and $7788 yuan.
Whether it is offline or online, the medicines we provide are the same, and the price is the same. A pharmacy staff replied to reporters that customers see a big difference in the price of online and offline drugs, the main reason is that the platform will provide different discounts, including discounts, red envelopes, etc., not that pharmacies have set up different online and offline **.
Another pharmacy staff said that although the online order seems to be cheaper, there are more delivery costs, and there is a limit on the quantity, and the original price will be restored if the excess is recalled.
The reporter found that on the purchase interface of the online pharmacy, many drugs were indeed marked with "limited to one copy". The store is priced at $18 on Meituan9 yuan of 999 brand compound cold spirit granules, when you buy the second one, the original price will be restored to 35 yuan. On the checkout page, the delivery fees for Ele.me and Meituan are displayed as 8 yuan and 7 yuan, respectively.
In addition to the takeaway platform, how about drugs on the e-commerce platform**?
In **999 Official***, a box of 9 bags of cold spirit granules costs 159 yuan, in Jingdong Pharmacy on Jingdong, the price of this product is 149 yuan, 12 cold capsules are priced at 15 in a box5 yuan, which is two or three yuan lower than the offline price of 18 yuan.
Regarding the lower drug prices of the platform's self-operated stores, the pharmacy staff said that different procurement and distribution channels will cause different drug prices. Although it is cheaper to buy drugs online, it cannot meet the needs of customers immediately, and there may be expenses such as shipping costs at the time of payment.
Diversified online and offline drug purchase channels.
It's convenient for everyone.
It seems that there are pros and cons to buying drugs online and offline, how will consumers choose?
Ms. Zhou, a citizen, told reporters that because her unit and residence were more than 1 kilometer away from the pharmacy, it was inconvenient in the past, so she generally chose to buy medicine online. If she doesn't know what medicine to take, she will go to the hospital to see a doctor and prescribe it. "Offline pharmacies can buy drugs through medical insurance, but I generally don't need to buy very expensive drugs, so it doesn't affect me to buy drugs online sometimes. ”
Ms. Lam, a citizen, usually goes to the pharmacy to buy medicine. In her opinion, although there are some discounts for buying medicines online, they may not be much cheaper after adding delivery fees. However, she also said that online channels can help her deal with emergencies, once she accidentally cut her fingers while cooking, she quickly used her mobile phone to order disinfectant cotton balls, iodine wine, gauze, etc., and soon the takeaway brother delivered the medicine.