Factors Shaping Consumer Trust in the Remote Purchase of Over-the-Counter Medicines

To solve the urgent task of optimizing pharmaceutical activities in the remote sale of over-the-counter medicines, it is necessary to study the factors that form consumer trust in this type of trade. The aim is to identify factors that have a positive impact on the formation of consumer trust in the remote purchase of over-the-counter medicines and conduct a marketing study on them in a group of target consumers in Russia. Materials and methods. The objects of the marketing study were 32 established formative factors. A survey of 629 target consumers from 18 regions of the European part of Russia was conducted. Field research was conducted using an oral survey (21.5%) and a web survey (78.5%), using a structured questionnaire. Results and discussion. 24 hypotheses were formulated, and 32 factors were identified that had a positive impact on the formation of consumer trust in the remote purchase of over-the-counter medicines. The marketing analysis showed a fairly high significance (importance) of the studied factors. The significant predominance of positive ratings in the overall frequency ratio (83.3±9.2%) and their prevalence among minimally important factors (about 70%) confirmed the correctness of the developed hypotheses and the possibility of using factors to build consumer trust in the remote purchase of over-the-counter medicines. The presence of an average positive effect from the practical impact of the proposed factors on Russian consumers was empirically proven (the combined parametric index is 4.3). A reliable dependence of the formation of some trust factors on the age group of respondents was established. Conclusions. There is a need for further research to understand the mechanism of behavioral intention underlying the formation of consumer trust concerning the remote purchase of over-the-counter medicines.