ABSTRACT
An online store provides a pharmacy with the incentive and a platform needed to post information on all the products they stock. Many off-the-shelf ecommerce solutions today provide the functionality for product reviews and ratings by customers as well, which makes the product information more attractive to visitors. In Europe the European Union (EU) has placed severe restriction on the pharmaceutical industry and how they are allowed to market or even talk about their products. There are some exceptions that at least lets a pharmaceutical brand provide some information through a website or social channels, but that is a place few dare to tread. The research online-purchase offline (ROPO) effect is the reverse of 'showrooming' caused by customers' smartphone's access to online data while the consumer is in the store. In 'showrooming' customers go to a store to test a product and purchase it online at a better price.
