You might already be aware of the fact that medicines like paracetamol, antihistamines or decongestant nose sprays are often much cheaper online from sites like Apotea.se, but the downside is that you often have to wait a couple of days for delivery – not great when you need something immediately to treat a cold.
However, this doesn’t mean that the only alternative is to go into your local pharmacy and pay more to get your medicine straight away. There’s another way to cut costs if you’re willing to wait an hour or two, and that’s to order online for pickup from your closest pharmacy.
Essentially, most Swedish pharmacy chains have one price instore and one online, in part to compete with online pharmacies who can offer lower prices as they don’t have any brick-and-mortar stores.
At the time of publication, a pack of 30 Ibruprofen tablets costs 63 kronor in-store at Apoteket pharmacies, or just 51 kronor online. 20 Alvedon tablets (paracetamol) cost 51 kronor in-store, or 35 online.
The price of 20 250mg Pronaxen tablets, a branded version of the NSAID naproxen, is 89 kronor instore, while people ordering it online for pickup in the exact same store pay less than half that at 43 kronor.
This isn’t just the case for Apoteket pharmacies either – other major pharmacy chains like Apotek Hjärtat, Kronans Apotek and DOZ Apotek all have the same system, with one price online and another in store.
At Apotek Hjärtat, for example, a pack of 20 Paracetamol Orifarm tablets costs just 13 kronor online compared to almost 40 kronor in store.
Other items are also cheaper when ordered for collection online, with items like saffron, toothbrushes and nappies (diapers) all priced higher instore.
How can I see the price difference?
Essentially, when you go onto a pharmacy’s website, the item you choose will have two prices listed – a webbpris (online price) and butikspris (price instore), which you can see in the screenshot below from Apoteket’s website. If there’s no butikspris listed, that’s because the item costs the same instore and online.
Once you’ve added the items to your basket, all you need to do is choose the Hämta express på apotek (express collection in the pharmacy) option, and your order will be packed by pharmacy staff and ready for pickup within two hours. The screenshot below is from Apoteket, but the system is essentially the same at the other pharmacies.
Why are prices so different online and instore?
In an interview with public broadcaster SVT, head pharmacist at ICA’s Apotek Hjärtat Annika Svedberg explained that the difference in prices is due to competition from online pharmacies, with traditional brick-and-mortar stores offering express collection at online prices as a sort of hybrid solution.
“Considering the stiff competition we think offering express [collection] within two hours is a good extra service, despite the fact that it’s obviously not the best for us, business-wise,” she told SVT. “It’s a way to hold our ground against those who only trade online.”
“If you feel like price is the most important factor, then you should choose to buy online,” she added.
Obviously, you aren’t able to discuss your ailments with a pharmacist in-person and get advice on treatment when ordering online, and you still have to wait a few hours, so if you need your items immediately or if you want to ask a pharmacist for help, your best option may still be to pay a few kronor extra and buy in-store.
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