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- ISSN: 2456-8015
Swati Deepak Kaushal
International Journal of Medical, Pharmacy and Drug Research(IJMPD), Vol-10,Issue-3, July - September 2026, Pages 1-7 , 10.22161/ijmpd.10.3.1
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Article Info: Received: 21 Jul 2026; Received in revised form: 31 Aug 2026; Accepted: 05 Sep 2026; Available online: 12 Sep 2026
The COVID-19 pandemic has furthered a structural change in pharmaceutical retail, as consumers moved away from brick-and-mortar pharmacies to e-pharmacy platforms and digital marketing channels. This was especially so for over-the-counter (OTC) topical analgesics, gels, creams, sprays and patches that provide localised pain relief in a very direct way. In this investigation, we studied the factors that motivated individuals in Mumbai and peri-urban Maharashtra to purchase these over-the-counter topical analgesics in higher quantities online post-COVID-19 pandemic. The focus was on the omnichannel buying pattern finally adopted by people, consumer trust, e-pharmacy platform features and digital marketing stimuli. We conducted a cross-sectional exploratory-descriptive survey by using Google Forms among a sample of 250 adult consumers (≥18 years) who had used OTC topical analgesics in the past year. The questionnaire consisted of 25 items, mostly Likert 1–5, with some multiple-choice questions. Three outcome proxies and nine driver constructs was operationalised. We applied descriptive statistics, OLS regression, chi-square with Cramér’s V, and two-way ANOVA to analyse the data. One major thing that got revealed is that the mean of the OPF proxy (Q23) was 3.98 (SD=0.83) and 74.4% of the respondents supported an increase in online purchasing after the COVID-19 pandemic. Convenience turned out to be a strong factor shaping the re-ordering behaviour (β=0.70, R²=0.50). Also, the visibility of licensed sellers was very important and it was strongly tied with the intent to subscribe (χ^2=11.1, p=0.004, V=0.21) and with the ease of re-ordering (χ^2=9.6, p=0.002, V=0.20). Pain cadence was a significant predictor of OPF (F=7.38, p=0.007, η²=0.029). When the sample got split up, chronic patients had the highest OPF (M=4.13). Moreover, the most noticeable store-first purchase patterns showed up among chronic users (61%) and seniors (65%), suggesting they were not evenly distributed. Overall, the buying of OTC topical analgesics has undergone a lasting digital transformation after the COVID-19 pandemic. This transformation is driven by the condition-driven needs that individuals continue to face in their daily lives, as well as cues of convenience and trust. In addition, digital marketing features have had a significant impact on this transformation. The new retail environment is characterised by channel complementarity rather than channel displacement.
