Online purchasing of health care goods and services is expected to skyrocket over the next few years, but Internet merchants will have a tough time convincing consumers that online shopping is really easier than going to the store.
A study released in January by Internet research firm Jupiter Communications predicts that online spending for health goods and services will climb from $200 million in 1999 to $9.8 billion by 2004.
This explosive growth could be even faster, the study shows, but most consumers still find buying in traditional stores more to their liking. Nearly one-half of the 1,667 consumers in the Jupiter survey said they preferred shopping in a traditional store where they can get personal attention, low prices and convenience in returning goods.
"Consumers say it is easier to shop off line right now," Claudine Singer, a Jupiter analyst, told the Associated Press.
The Jupiter study found that about 45 percent of online health spending in 2002—$4.4 billion—will be for prescription drugs, up from $30 million in 1999.
