Factors Affecting Consumers’ Purchase Decision of Over-The-Counter (OTC) Medicines: Empirical Evidences from Community Pharmacies in Ethiopia.
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Date
2018-05-15
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
The objective of this study was to examine factors affecting consumers’ purchase decision of over-the-counter (OTC) medicines from community pharmacies in Ethiopia. A quantitative research design, and descriptive and explanatory research approaches were used. Both primary and secondary data were collected. For primary data (questionnaire) and secondary data (related literatures and different documents) were used. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23 was used to analyze the data.
The study had a 96% response rate. According to the finding, pharmacist’s recommendation, price, and country of origin of OTC medicines have positive and significant effect on consumers’ purchase decision. Even though, past experience and families' and friends' recommendation also have positive effect on consumers’ purchase decision of OTC medicine, their effect were not statistically significant.
Consumers’ decisions to purchase OTC medicines were influenced by pharmacist’s recommendation followed by price and country of origin of OTC medicines. Past experience and families' and friends' recommendation did not show a statistically significant effect. Therefore; marketers of OTC medication could benefit from considering community pharmacists as main targets for their promotional activities, they could also benefit from pricing strategies to have competitive advantages and manage needs of their consumers, and marketers could also capitalize on the country of origin for their products in their marketing activities.
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Keywords
Community Pharmacy, OTC Medicine, Purchase Decision