Tuesday, October 27, 2026
The 2026 ApoMomentum study by pilot Mainz and Deutscher Apotheker Verlag portrays community pharmacies as operationally strained, but still strong in patient trust. For pharma and healthcare marketers, the findings point to a clear priority: pharmacy teams value reliability, professional substance and practical support more than communication that relies on visibility alone.
The fifth edition of the study is based on an online survey of 1,415 participants from the Deutsches Apotheken Portal, conducted between 1 July and 6 August 2026. Respondents included 736 pharmacists, 669 pharmacy technicians and ten people from other professional groups. The survey focused on daily pharmacy work, trust, artificial intelligence, and information and training behaviour.
Shortages shape day-to-day work
The overall mood is not uniformly negative. Across different team sizes, the largest group describes the situation in its pharmacy as mixed. Positive assessments are somewhat more common than clearly negative ones.
When respondents name their main burdens, practical and structural issues dominate. Medicine shortages are cited as one of the three biggest challenges by 67 percent of pharmacists and 71 percent of pharmacy technicians. Fees and commercial viability, bureaucracy, competition from mail-order pharmacies and staff shortages follow. Digitalisation ranks much lower, at 15 percent among pharmacists and 16 percent among pharmacy technicians.
For manufacturers, this hierarchy matters. Pharmacy teams evaluate communication against the backdrop of supply pressure, administrative workload and the need to keep day-to-day operations running.
Trust is built in the consultation
Around four in five respondents say patients place rather strong or very strong trust in their team’s advisory competence. Personal advice and professional expertise are the factors most often named as strengthening trust in the pharmacy. Proximity, accessibility, reliability and availability also play an important role.
Trust becomes particularly visible when patients need immediate guidance, for example in self-medication, in choosing alternatives during shortages, or when risks and side effects are explained. For marketing decision-makers, this reinforces the role of the community pharmacy as an environment where professional information can directly support patient-facing advice.
Trust in pharmaceutical manufacturers is also linked to concrete performance. Respondents point to supply chain reliability, scientific evidence, a clear price-performance relationship, good returns policies, the quality of training and transparency during shortages. Professional advertising is part of this mix, but it does not work in isolation: 20 percent of pharmacists and 26 percent of pharmacy technicians name the quality of professional advertising as a factor that strengthens trust.
AI is visible, but not yet routine
Artificial intelligence is reaching the professional environment of pharmacies, but its use in daily pharmacy work remains limited. Almost three quarters of respondents do not use AI at all or use it no more than once or twice a month. At the same time, around two thirds of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians say AI applications have increased noticeably or strongly in their professional environment over the past three years.
Expectations remain cautious. Only a small minority has strong confidence that AI will significantly improve the quality and efficiency of work in the next three to five years. Most respondents see both opportunities and risks.
For trade media and providers of AI-supported information services, trust is the key issue. About half of respondents would use such services as an information source depending on the specific case. The main requirements are clear labelling of AI-generated content, transparency about the data sources used and the option to ask a human contact. A seal or certificate alone carries less weight for respondents.
Information needs differ within the pharmacy team
The study also shows different patterns in training and information use. Pharmacists more often use editorial articles in professional media, certified training and specialist books. Pharmacy technicians make greater use of product training, events offered by pharmaceutical companies, in-pharmacy training, congresses, community formats and recommendations from colleagues.
For media planning, this argues against one-size-fits-all messaging. Evidence-based context, editorial depth, practical training and ready-to-use counselling support serve different purposes and reach different groups within the pharmacy team.
The OTC field force also has to meet several expectations at once. Pharmacy teams want attractive commercial terms, fast information on shortages and availability, professional competence, clear knowledge transfer and a reliable partnership. For marketing and sales, the implication is shared: visibility matters, but it has to be linked with operational support and professional credibility.
