Surfers buy medicines online

Twenty-five per cent of online shoppers in the UK either have or would be prepared to buy prescription drugs over the web, according to a survey.

According to WebCredible's findings, more people would buy prescription drugs online than would buy cars or garden sheds.

Though the practice is not always illegal, it is unregulated, and there is a big black market for unlicensed pharmaceuticals as the high levels of spam offering medications in circulation demonstrate.

Trenton Moss, director of Webcredible said: "That fact that more consumers seem to be prepared to buy prescription drugs online than simple DIY items like wallpaper and garden sheds is a worrying finding and pharmaceutical organisations must use the internet to advise consumers on the dangers of this."

The survey also found that 84 per cent of the 1,200 respondents had bought books online and 63 per cent had bought clothes on the web.

"For companies dealing in products like books and clothes it is crucial that they capitalise on the consumer’s willingness to purchase online by making their site as visible and usable as possible to maximise sales ahead of their competitors," Moss continued.

A similar survey published yesterday by uSwitch found that 41 per cent of people had bought books online, and 36 per cent had bought clothes over the net.

www.webcredible.co.uk
www.uswitch.com