Att navigera i digitaliseringens våg : En fenomenografisk studie om hur e-handel påverkar marknadsstrategier och kundrelationer inom apoteksbranschen - ur ett företagsperspektiv

Background: The digital era has changed the game of market strategies and a change of consumer behavior in the pharmacies. This study investigates how Swedish pharmacies tailor their market strategies to survive in changing tides in the e-commerce dynamic environment of doing business. Purpose: This essay aims to investigate how digitization and e-commerce affect marketing and customer relations within the pharmacy industry from a business perspective. By analyzing the experiences of managers in pharmacies, the study highlights how these factors reshape customer interactions and thus in turn also influence purchase decisions. Method: This study used a method that’s known as qualitative data with a phenomographic approach. The qualitative data of the study was obtained using semi-structured interviews with key people responsible for the marketing strategy. Result: This showed that there was clear proof that pharmacy stores are registering much higher sales online, showing the paradigm shift in e-commerce. Key strategies identified were relation marketing strategies which include omnichannel marketing. Understanding how consumer journeys have become more digital is vital for everybody associated with pharmacies both consumers and businesses. Conclusion: Adaption to the digital era is a key factor for success in the pharmacy sector, in combination with innovative market strategies that will include the use of various relation market strategies. Pharmacies that can integrate those, whether online or in physical places, are likely to retain competitiveness as the market evolves. That in order to survive in the market.