We wanted to discover if the opinions on sun cream recommendation of professionals was vastly different, so we decided to visit 400 pharmacies across four European countries to find out. It took our 1 million data gathers just 48 hours to visit pharmacies in Spain, France, Italy and the UK to conduct mystery shopping missions. The question was simple: What brand of sun cram would you recommend for children and adults that has a high UV rating?
As countries all over Europe bask in record-breaking weather this season, the demand for sun cream has undoubtedly peaked. Our research found that there were indeed primary brands of choice when it came to sun cream, however, there was clear regional and country-specific trends that were revealed. L’Oréal (Garnier) and Beiersdorf (Nivea) were strong favorites but no other brand could come close to Pierre Fabre Group (Avène) as the most recommended in mainland Europe, with 38% of pharmacies recommending their product.
Despite one brand leading the mainland European market in brand recommendations, the same could not be said for the UK market. With 47% of UK pharmacies recommending their own brand sun cream, is the UK at risk of losing sight of professional independent sun cream recommendations in return for greater margins with own-brand sells? Stores such as Boots and Lloyds Pharmacy continue to dominate much of the UK pharmaceutical market and as such we saw close to 50% of own-brand recommendations made for this market.
Ensuring brand recommendations are accurate and reflect a brand’s unique selling points is crucial in a competitive market, especially when it is typically a seasonal product. Regular monitoring of recommendations and subsequent education by field representatives will ultimately result in higher sell-out potential for pharmaceutical companies.
To find out more, download your free copy of our exclusive sun cream brand recommendation report here.
