Many online health information seekers just looking, not buying

Searching for health care information is one of the top reasons people use the Internet today. But getting health information seekers to also buy health care products online is a challenge as big as the potential market, experts say.

“When someone is asking, ‘What is the prognosis for this condition?’ that’s very different from looking to buy a product,” says Sucharita Mulpuru, senior retail analyst at Forrester Research Inc. “These people are similar to those who are looking at the New York Times or entertainment sites. They want information, and that won’t necessarily lead to a financial transaction.”

But e-retailers such as TheMedicalSupplyDepot.com are counting on people looking for medical content online translating into sales. “When consumers are looking for medical information online, they might say, ‘Hey, I should check my blood sugar,’ and buy a product to do that,” says Meir Psinman, president of company.

Most people are searching for health care information because they have an issue, and the remedy to that issue is often is a medical procedure, a pharmaceutical or an over-the-counter health care product, says Michael I. Brown, president and CEO of HealthPricer Interactive Ltd., which operates a comparison shopping site for health care products, healthpricer.com. “If someone is researching their health concern online, they can also research those pharmaceuticals and products. If we make it easy for them, they will buy them online.”

MotherNature.com, however, has found that getting people to move from browsers to buyers isn’t a small feat, says R. Whitney Anderson, CEO of Mother Nature Inc. “We have about 1.5 million people coming to our site to research health concerns in our large natural health library,” Anderson says. “But in general, the conversion of people into buyers from researchers is a tall order. We let them come and research, and we hope that they will remember MotherNature.com as having been helpful when they are ready to buy.”