The share of parapharmaceuticals in pharmacy revenue decreased in January–February 2025 to a historic low of only 19%, according to a report by the analytical company RNC Pharma. According to experts, it has been steadily decreasing from 23.2% in 2022 to 21.2% in 2024. Since 2023, consumers switch to marketplaces for most categories of medical products, which has been a key factor in the downward trend in pharmacy sales, which analysts believe will continue this year, leading to a decrease in the number of pharmacies.
In 2024, Russian pharmacies sold medicines worth 1,644 trillion rubles (in retail prices, including VAT), a 16% increase y-o-y. The total revenue of pharmacies in 2024, including parapharmaceuticals, amounted to 2.086 trillion rubles, which is 15.2% growth y-o-y. The total sales of products other than drugs in pharmaceutical retail last year exceeded 442 billion rubles. However, the growth rate lagged far behind the performance of the drug range. In rubles, sales of parapharmaceuticals in 2023 increased by only 12.2%.
Analysts noted that in 2023 the difference was more dramatic: drug sales increased 5.6% in rubles, while parapharmaceuticals fell 2.9%. Experts recalled that abnormal demand was noted at the beginning of 2022. It affected the entire pharmacy range, which, among other things, distorted the growth rates. From 2022 to 2024, however, the share of non-medicinal products in the revenue of Russian pharmacies steadily decreased. In 2022 it accounted for 23.2%, and by 2024 the share decreased to 21.2%.
The trend continued at the beginning of this year: in January and February, Russian pharmacies sold medicines worth 299.2 billion rubles. The year-on-year growth reached 13.7% (in rubles). Sales of parapharmaceuticals amounted to 70.3 billion rubles, 5.6% less than a year earlier. As a result, the share of non-medicinal products in pharmacy revenue decreased to an absolute historical minimum of 19%.
Analysts stressed that this is also 3% less than in January-February 2024, and attributed the decline in demand for parapharmaceuticals to consumption disbalance. At the beginning of 2025, the incidence of influenza and ARVI began to rise sharply, making it more relevant for consumers to purchase the therapies against these diseases. However, the main factor that determined the trend was the fact that consumers turned to marketplaces. Since 2023, more and more consumers opt for marketplaces when buying most categories of medical products, RNC Pharma reports. Last year, a serious outflow was observed in the dietary supplement category. Analysts do not rule out that the trend will continue this year.
