 |
|
Surfing Canada
for cheaper drugs
Growing number of older Americans are doing it
By Diego Vasquez
Just yesterday more than 300 seniors and their supporters
staged protests at three bridges leading from Michigan into Canada in support of laws
allowing them to buy cheaper imported prescription drugs. And with the presidential
election just weeks away, this is an increasingly hot political issue.
But there's already a very large group of American seniors buying their drugs
from Canada, regardless of what the laws say, and they're not hopping on buses for the
journey across those bridges.
They're using the internet to do it.
That group is growing steadily. What's surprising, perhaps, is how large it
has become.
Of the top 25 pharmacy sites among computer users age 55 and older, 12
are foreign-based and emphasize their heavily discounted drug prices, according to
information released by internet tracking company Hitwise.
The top 10 foreign-based sites with the highest percentage of their U.S.
visitors from the 55-and-up demographic are all based in Canada. The top three are Canada
Drugs (canadadrugs), with 53 percent of its visitors being Americans over age 55, Med
Center Store (medcenterstore) with 44 percent, and Doctor Solve (doctorsolve) with 42
percent.
The most popular pharmacy site among seniors overall is not based in Canada.
It is the AARP Pharmacy Services site (aarppharmacy), with 75.6
percent of its visitors falling into the 55-plus demo. It doesn't sell imported drugs but
it competes to offer its members the best prices available in the U.S.
No surprise, the 55-and-older crowd is the leading demographic in the
pharmacy category, with 37 percent of all visits. Members of the demo are more than twice
as likely to visit a pharmacy web site, according to Hitwise.
The pharmacy category as a whole has been on the rise over the last year.
Through Sept. 25, Hitwise reports U.S. visits to pharmacy web sites have increased by 11.8
percent compared with the same time last year, with the category accounting for 0.066
percent of all U.S. internet visits.
One would assume a surge in traffic in the pharmacy category would be due to
the drug-pushing spam emails that have become all too common. But email pitches appear to
account for a small percentage of pharmacy visits.
The largest share by far, 33.3 percent of all visits in the pharmacy
category, come directly from search engines, reports Hitwise.
Email is the next most popular origin but it's considerably smaller, at 6.7
percent. Presumably this includes both legitimate and spam emails. Health information
sites (6.5 percent), entertainment sites (6.2 percent) and shopping sites (5.9 percent)
round out the top five.
One interesting fact from Hitwise: It appears one's proximity to Canada
indicates one's propensity to search the internet for cheaper drugs. Consider the Michigan
protestors, for example. People of that state are 32 percent more likely than Americans
overall to visit pharmacy web sites. Pennsylvanians are even more inclined, at 37
percent, as are folks who live in Delaware (36 percent).
Pharmacy
Sites
Ranked By Highest % of Visitors Age 55+
Data Period: Week Ending Sept. 11, 2004 |
Rank |
Site |
Domain |
%
Of Visitors Age 55+ |
Explicit
Foreign Country Affiliation |
1 |
AARP Pharmacy
Services |
aarppharmacy |
75.65% |
|
2 |
Prescription
Solutions Online |
rxsolutions |
66.43% |
|
3 |
DrWkitaker |
DrWkitaker |
65.88% |
|
4 |
Medco Health |
medcohealth |
63.34% |
|
5 |
Express Scripts
Members |
member.express-scripts |
59.55% |
|
6 |
CareMark |
caremark |
59.44% |
|
7 |
Medco |
medco |
58.12% |
|
8 |
Express
Scripts |
express-scripts |
54.36% |
|
9 |
Canada Drugs |
canadadrugs |
52.89% |
Canada |
10 |
AdvanceRX |
advancerx |
49.76% |
|
11 |
Med Center Store |
medcenterstore |
43.60% |
Canada |
12 |
DoctorSolve |
doctorsolve |
42.40% |
Canada |
13 |
Jan Drugs |
jandrugs |
41.48% |
Canada |
14 |
Canada
Pharmacy |
canadapharmacy |
40.82% |
Canada |
15 |
RxNorth |
rxnorth |
39.79% |
Canada |
16 |
Affordable RX |
affordablerx |
39.60% |
Canada |
17 |
Candrugstore |
candrugstore |
38.89% |
Canada |
18 |
MedCenter Canada |
medcentercanada |
38.55% |
Canada |
19 |
AmeriCanaMeds |
americanameds |
30.78% |
Canada |
20 |
legalmedsonline |
legalmedsonline |
28.39% |
|
21 |
Drugstores-Online |
drugstores-online |
27.81% |
|
22 |
RX-MEX |
rx-mex |
25.65% |
Mexico |
23 |
Rite Aid |
riteaid |
24.46% |
|
24 |
myrxforless |
myrxforless |
23.34% |
Mexico |
25 |
drugstore |
drugstore |
23.24% |
|
| Source:
Hitwise |
Pharmacy
Sites
Ranking By All U.S. Visits
Data Period: August 2004 |
| Rank |
Name |
Domain |
Market Share
Within Pharmacy Category |
Explicit
Foreign Country Affiliation |
1 |
Medco Health |
medcohealth |
15.32% |
|
2 |
drugstore |
drugstore |
14.46% |
|
3 |
Walgreens |
walgreens |
12.65% |
|
4 |
Rite Aid |
riteaid |
8.47% |
|
5 |
CVS |
cvs |
6.12% |
|
6 |
Express Scripts
Members |
member.express-scripts |
3.35% |
|
7 |
Canada Pharmacy |
canadapharmacy |
3.00% |
Canada |
8 |
Online-Meds.ws |
online-meds.ws |
2.93% |
|
9 |
Express-Scripts |
express-scripts |
2.57% |
|
10 |
CareMark |
caremark |
2.46% |
|
11 |
AdvanceRX |
advancerx |
1.80% |
|
12 |
Eckerd |
eckerd |
1.30% |
|
13 |
legalmedsonline |
legalmedsonline |
1.28% |
|
14 |
Mexican Pharmacies
Online |
pmeds |
0.91% |
Mexico |
15 |
idealprescriptions |
idealprescriptions |
0.90% |
|
16 |
eDrugstore.md |
edrugstore.md |
0.84% |
|
17 |
myrxforless |
myrxforless |
0.72% |
Mexico |
18 |
FrontierPharmacies |
frontierpharmacies |
0.71% |
|
19 |
Canada Drugs |
canadadrugs |
0.69% |
Canada |
20 |
Medco |
medco |
0.68% |
|
21 |
Drugstores
Online |
drugstores-online |
0.68% |
|
22 |
RxNorth |
rxnorth |
0.61% |
Canada |
23 |
RX-MEX |
rx-mex |
0.59% |
Mexico |
24 |
Pillstore |
pillstore |
0.56% |
|
25 |
Jan Drugs |
jandrugs |
0.54% |
Canada |
26 |
DrugBuyers |
drugbuyers |
0.54% |
|
27 |
Candrugstore |
candrugstore |
0.48% |
Canada |
28 |
ClickPharmacy |
clickpharmacy |
0.47% |
|
29 |
Affordable RX |
affordablerx |
0.46% |
Canada |
30 |
DoctorSolve |
doctorsolve |
0.41% |
Canada |
31 |
Prescription Solutions
Online |
rxsolutions |
0.41% |
|
32 |
accessmednet |
accessmednet |
0.40% |
|
33 |
AmeriCanaMeds |
americanameds |
0.39% |
Canada |
34 |
AARP Pharmacy
Services |
aarppharmacy |
0.38% |
|
35 |
Med Center Store |
medcenterstore |
0.36% |
Canada |
36 |
USAPrescription |
usaprescription |
0.35% |
|
37 |
MedCenter Canada |
medcentercanada |
0.32% |
Canada |
38 |
TheHome
Pharmacy |
thehomepharmacy |
0.32% |
|
39 |
Diet Prescriptions |
dietprescriptions |
0.30% |
|
40 |
AmericaRx |
americarx |
0.29% |
|
41 |
Foreign Pharms
Online |
foreign-pharmacies
online |
0.29% |
|
42 |
DrWkitaker |
drwhitaker |
0.27% |
|
43 |
AlbionDrugs |
albiondrugs |
0.26% |
|
44 |
KwikMed |
kwikmed |
0.26% |
|
45 |
Rx1 |
rx1.biz |
0.26% |
Can |
46 |
Universal
DrugStore |
universaldrugstore |
0.25% |
Can |
47 |
Web-Drug
Store |
web-drug-store |
0.24% |
|
48 |
icanrx |
icanrx |
0.24% |
Can |
49 |
RxDrugCard |
rxdrugcard |
0.24% |
|
50 |
Walgreen
EasySaver rebate |
rebatestatus.walgreens |
0.24% |
|
| Source:
Hitwise |
Top Ranked Search-Engine Terms
Resulting In Visits to the Pharmacy Site Category
Data Period: 12-Weeks Ending Sept. 11, 2004 |
Rank |
Search
Term |
1 |
canadian pharmacy |
2 |
canadian drugs |
3 |
canadian pharmacies |
4 |
canada pharmacy |
5 |
canada drugs |
6 |
mexican pharmacies |
7 |
canadian prescriptions |
8 |
"canadian
pharmacy" |
9 |
canada meds |
10 |
prescription drugs from
canada |
11 |
prescription d r u gs
canada |
12 |
canadian-drugs |
13 |
prescriptions canada |
14 |
actonel from canada |
15 |
licensed canadian pharmacy |
16 |
canadian prescription
drugs |
17 |
drugs from canada |
18 |
mexican pharmacy |
19 |
canadian drug stores |
20 |
canada rx |
21 |
mexican pharmacy |
22 |
prescription drugs canada |
23 |
prices comparison canadian
prescription |
24 |
advair in canada |
| 25 |
canada mail order drugs |
| Source:
Hitwise |
Pharmacy
Sites
Age Demographic Breakout
Data Period: Week Ending Sept. 11, 2004 |
| Demographic |
Traffic share |
Representation
*indexed
against the online population |
| 18-24 |
10.02% |
57.14 |
| 25-34 |
16.77% |
69.25 |
| 35-44 |
19.09% |
75.73 |
| 45-54 |
16.68% |
97.11 |
| 55+ |
37.44% |
235.99 |
| Source:
Hitwise |
Pharmacy
Sites – Household Income Demographic Breakout
Data Period: Week Ending Sept. 11, 2004 |
| Demographic |
Traffic
share |
Representation
*
indexed against
the online population |
| < $30,000 |
20.91% |
99.52 |
| $30,000 - $59,999 |
31.25% |
104.86 |
| $60,000 - $99,999 |
29.23% |
102.15 |
| $100,000 - $149,999 |
13.14% |
99.4 |
| > $150,000 |
5.47% |
74.4 |
Source: Hitwise |
Top 25
parent companies
Through September 19 |
| # |
Parent |
Unique
Audience (000) |
Reach
% |
Time
spent per person (hh:mm:ss) |
1 |
Microsoft |
54,654 |
52.0 |
0:33:52 |
2 |
Yahoo! |
47,132 |
44.8 |
0:42:54 |
3 |
Time
Warner |
46,057 |
43.8 |
1:23:18 |
4 |
Google |
26,574 |
25.3 |
0:08:25 |
5 |
eBay |
16,097 |
15.3 |
0:46:00 |
6 |
United
States Government |
11,975 |
11.4 |
0:10:12 |
7 |
Ask
Jeeves |
10,433 |
9.9 |
0:11:04 |
8 |
Walt
Disney Internet Group |
9,455 |
9.0 |
0:19:05 |
9 |
Landmark
Communications |
8,875 |
8.4 |
0:08:17 |
10 |
RealNetworks |
8,706 |
8.3 |
0:21:21 |
11 |
Amazon |
8,088 |
7.7 |
0:09:57 |
12 |
Viacom
International |
7,576 |
7.2 |
0:16:46 |
13 |
InterActiveCorp |
7,537 |
7.2 |
0:10:32 |
14 |
United
Online |
7,371 |
7.0 |
0:40:52 |
15 |
AWS
Convergence Technologies |
6,826 |
6.5 |
0:10:07 |
16 |
Network
Associates |
6,148 |
5.8 |
0:10:52 |
17 |
Terra
Lycos |
5,645 |
5.4 |
0:05:58 |
18 |
EarthLink |
5,175 |
4.9 |
0:29:03 |
19 |
Gannett |
4,731 |
4.5 |
0:09:51 |
20 |
Comcast
Corp. |
4,708 |
4.5 |
0:19:16 |
21 |
CNET
Networks |
4,683 |
4.5 |
0:07:21 |
22 |
Bank
of America |
4,559 |
4.3 |
0:19:46 |
23 |
Apple
Computer |
4,490 |
4.3 |
0:10:35 |
24 |
Verizon
Communications |
4,422 |
4.2 |
0:10:01 |
25 |
About-Primedia |
3,978 |
3.8 |
0:03:50 |
| Source:
Nielsen//NetRatings |
Top 25
brands
Through September 19 |
| |
Parent |
Unique
Audience (000) |
Reach
% |
Time
spent per person (hh:mm:ss) |
1 |
Yahoo! |
45,631 |
43.4 |
0:44:10 |
2 |
MSN |
44,641 |
42.4 |
0:31:00 |
3 |
Microsoft |
36,839 |
35.0 |
0:12:39 |
4 |
AOL |
33,664 |
32.0 |
1:43:56 |
5 |
Google |
26,071 |
24.8 |
0:08:07 |
6 |
eBay |
15,546 |
14.8 |
0:45:12 |
7 |
Weather
Channel |
8,726 |
8.3 |
0:08:18 |
8 |
Real |
8,399 |
8.0 |
0:20:17 |
9 |
Amazon |
6,827 |
6.5 |
0:09:43 |
10 |
WeatherBug |
6,771 |
6.4 |
0:10:08 |
11 |
MapQuest |
6,129 |
5.8 |
0:07:34 |
12 |
McAfee |
6,095 |
5.8 |
0:10:54 |
13 |
CNN |
5,540 |
5.3 |
0:09:11 |
14 |
Lycos
Network |
5,341 |
5.1 |
0:05:20 |
15 |
Netscape |
5,084 |
4.8 |
0:10:02 |
16 |
ESPN |
4,560 |
4.3 |
0:16:30 |
17 |
Apple |
4,490 |
4.3 |
0:10:35 |
18 |
EarthLink |
4,308 |
4.1 |
0:29:56 |
19 |
Comcast |
4,286 |
4.1 |
0:20:24 |
20 |
U.S.
Dept. of Commerce |
4,078 |
3.9 |
0:09:24 |
21 |
Bank
of America |
3,924 |
3.7 |
0:20:26 |
22 |
Gator
Network |
3,796 |
3.6 |
0:01:16 |
23 |
Gorilla
Nation Media |
3,588 |
3.4 |
0:07:49 |
24 |
EA
Online |
3,525 |
3.4 |
1:27:37 |
25 |
AT&T |
3,414 |
3.2 |
0:15:38 |
| Source:
Nielsen//NetRatings |
Top 25
advertisers
(excludes house ads)
Through September 19 |
| # |
Company |
Impressions
(000) |
1 |
Netflix,
Inc. |
528,908 |
2 |
LowerMyBills.com,
Inc. |
409,764 |
3 |
AT&T
Wireless Services, Inc. |
404,365 |
4 |
Dell
Computer Corporation |
371,085 |
5 |
Fun
Web Products |
342,151 |
6 |
InterActiveCorp |
312,395 |
7 |
SBC
Communications, Inc. |
291,249 |
8 |
Ford
Motor Company |
284,329 |
9 |
Verizon
Communications, Inc. |
269,947 |
10 |
Sprint
Corporation |
267,215 |
11 |
Classmates
Online, Inc. |
263,863 |
12 |
Freeze.com |
243,628 |
13 |
Orbitz |
235,061 |
14 |
Monster
Worldwide, Inc. |
222,139 |
15 |
eBay,
Inc. |
210,542 |
16 |
Viacom
Inc |
201,739 |
17 |
Apollo
Group, Inc. |
190,689 |
18 |
State
Farm Insurance Company |
187,614 |
19 |
Vonage
Holdings Corp |
178,456 |
20 |
Samsung
Electronics Co., Ltd. |
176,206 |
21 |
Scottrade,
Inc. |
172,041 |
22 |
DaimlerChrysler
Corporation |
154,081 |
23 |
Ameritrade
Holding Corporation |
148,652 |
24 |
BellSouth
Corporation |
143,681 |
25 |
MarketRange,
Inc. |
140,050 |
| Source:
Nielsen//NetRatings AdRelevance |
Top 25
advertising sites
(excludes house ads)
Through September 19 |
| |
Company |
Impressions
(000) |
1 |
Yahoo! |
4,957,209 |
2 |
MSN |
2,205,045 |
3 |
iWon |
699,840 |
4 |
CNN |
535,633 |
5 |
The
Weather Underground |
451,759 |
6 |
The
Weather Channel |
443,776 |
7 |
ESPN.com |
383,641 |
8 |
eBay |
358,863 |
9 |
Excite |
336,801 |
10 |
The
New York Times |
318,275 |
11 |
AOL.com |
317,318 |
12 |
MSNBC |
258,151 |
13 |
Juno |
257,888 |
14 |
Classmates |
254,776 |
15 |
AT&T
Worldnet |
248,056 |
16 |
EarthLink |
207,641 |
17 |
CBS
SportsLine |
188,054 |
18 |
NetZero |
176,283 |
19 |
| | |
