E-health and medical packaging trends 2023

The Covid-19 health crisis has had a lasting impact on the health and pharmaceutical sector, radically changing the daily lives of laboratories, practitioners, caregivers, health institutions, hospitals and clinics.

Even the behaviour of patients themselves has been revolutionised.
The explosion of e-commerce, facilitated by multiple confinements, has made e-health and e-pharmacy services flourish.

So what are the trends in the e-health sector in 2023? And how can you, as an e-tailer, integrate them into your own logistics strategy?

Find out the answers to these questions here.

E-health: a trend driven by an exponentially growing market

For several years now, the e-health sector has been growing steadily. And this trend in the health sector will not stop in 2022!

According to Statista’s Health Market Outlook, between 2021 and 2025, the consumer e-health market is expected to grow by more than 60%. This increase will reach €78 billion by 2025.

Good to note: in this sector, e-commerce pharmacy (i.e. the sale of medicines without a prescription) and online medical consultations account for the bulk of revenues (more than three quarters of market revenues).

Health products and services that will explode in 2023

Based on this growth, the eHealth field will see several trends emerge in 2023.

First of all, it is easy to predict that teleconsultation, telemedicine and tele-expertise will continue to gain ground over the year, as they have become part of people’s consumption habits for health services.

But the other health trends of the year that will continue to flourish will be healthtech and IoT ( connected objects) applied to this sector of activity. Connected watches, connected scales, and other health-related technology devices are gaining market share every year.

As a result,at CES Las Vegas 2023, several e-health companies stood out, including innovative startups. For example, the French company Withings is presenting its U-Scan technology, a urine analysis tool for home toilets that promises to revolutionise patient care.

Another interesting example is the Sugar Daddy Kit, a connected medical package that simplifies the lives of hyperglycaemic people by providing them with all the medical tools they need to treat themselves in a simple and compact package.

Finally, e-commerce in health, pharmacy and parapharmacy is becoming a permanent feature of health trends in 2023. We can predict without much surprise that the delivery of pharmaceutical and parapharmaceutical products will continue to develop, either in rapid delivery via urban and suburban logistics, or by more traditional delivery via sites 100% dedicated to the delivery of medicines and medical devices.

A “retailisation” of the health sector that requires you to adapt

The latest trend in the sector that both healthcare professionals and e-tailers must take into account is the “retailisation” of patients’ expectations.

In fact, in the healthcare sector as in other sectors, consumers are increasingly demanding the customer experience that is offered to them. They want to have a similar shopping experience to the one they have in retail.

Hence the interest for you, e-tailers in this sector, to take care of your logistics to offer them this experience.

To do this, take care to integrate these few keys to success into your logistics strategy:

• Highlightthe e-commerce delivery conditions of your products on your website. Delivery times or order return conditions are all key elements to stimulate the sale of your products online.

• Select the right e-commerce transport providers to deliver reliably to your customers. They must respect the delivery times you advertise on your website, but also be able to deliver temperature-sensitive products if you offer them in your catalogue.

• Choose the right packaging to deliver your customers in the best possible way. For example, insulated packaging for health products that need to be kept at negative temperatures, or packaging that goes straight to the letterbox for small orders, can significantly help you improve your customer experience on delivery.

• Select eco-friendly packaging. In the health sector as in others, consumers are concerned about the environmental impact of their purchases. That’s why it’s crucial to focus on the sustainability of your packaging. For more information on this subject, see our article on the 5Rs method, which allows you to make your packaging more environmentally friendly.

• Take inspiration from the retail sector to make your packaging attractive. Use customised packaging, which allows you to customise its visual appearance by adding your brand’s colour and logo, as well as dynamic slogans. You can also dedicate a part of the packaging to the signage that allows you to transport your products properly: direction of transport, need to respect a specific temperature…

Need to know more about this type of packaging? Discover all the medical and pharmaceutical packaging you may need here!