Alba Labarca - Avizor

In retail, the moment of truth is often described as the instant a consumer decides whether or not to buy. In pharmacy, however, that moment is fundamentally different — and more complex. According to Alba Labarca León, Head of Pharmacy Division at Avizor and former Colgate-Palmolive leader with more than 22 years of experience, brands do not win or lose at the shelf alone. They win, or disappear, through recommendation, availability and focus.

A Dual Moment of Truth in Pharmacy

Having worked across the entire value chain, from supermarket retail at Día to building category management from scratch at Colgate, Alba brings a rare end-to-end perspective on what truly drives growth at the decisive point of purchase. Today, working in the pharmaceutical sector, she sees the moment of truth more clearly than ever.

For pharmacy products, there are really two distinct moments of truth that determine whether a sale will be made. “The first arises when a patient comes in with a medical prescription,” Alba explains. “In that case, the pharmacy must have exactly what the doctor prescribed. If it’s not in stock, the patient will go to another pharmacy that does.” In Spain, it’s common for national wholesalers to deliver within 2–3 and platforms like Luda help pharmacists locate nearby stock, which strengthens the patient service and help retain patients.

The second moment of truth happens when a patient arrives with a medical recommendation that leads to an OTC option, where the pharmacist may recommend an alternative product with similar benefits — this is the decisive point of influence for OTC products and many health categories.”

For prescription medicines, the channel is clear: patients obtain them exclusively in pharmacies, making availability at the counter essential. In Spain, OTC medicines follow a similar logic. Unlike in several other countries, non-prescription medicines remain pharmacy-exclusive products and must always be purchased within a pharmacy, even when patients search or compare options online.

The situation changes, however, in health and hygiene categories such as vitamins, dermocosmetics or eye care. In these categories, pharmacists frequently assume the professional responsibility of recommendation, while accepting the commercial risk that consumers may later purchase the product elsewhere — often online or through alternative retail channels offering lower prices.

In practice, this means brands must design their strategy pharmacist-first while also being fully digital-ready. Availability plans, recommendation scripts and staff training must be supported by flawless digital content, strong reviews and a clear presence in retail media. Ignoring either side weakens the entire system.

“In pharmacy, there are two decisive moments that shape whether a product succeeds at the point of purchase; the first is when a patient arrives with a medical need, and the pharmacy must have the exact prescribed or recommended product in stock. The second comes when the pharmacist recommends an OTC or health product. That recommendation becomes critical, especially as it competes with online channels where patients may choose to buy elsewhere.”

The KPI That Decides Whether You Stay on The Shelf

Despite all the emphasis on brand equity, awareness and consideration, Alba is very clear about the KPI that ultimately determines survival in store: rotation.

“For a retailer, the most important KPI is minimum rotation,” she says. “If a product doesn’t move at a level consistent with its category dynamics, whether that’s close to a unit a day for more frequent OTC health products, or a lower turnover threshold for higher-value or less frequently purchased items, it will eventually disappear from the assortment. The exact figure changes by product type, price point and purchase cadence, but the principle is the same: if it doesn’t sell, it won’t stay.”

Closely linked to this is weighted distribution — not just how many outlets carry the product, but whether those outlets actually sell it. Being present in fewer pharmacies that generate high turnover is far more valuable than broad but unproductive coverage. “Brands tend to look at their market share and raw distribution,” Alba notes. “But rotation is what determines whether you stay listed. Scanner data tells you that story very clearly, and retailers act on that every day.”

“Brands tend to look at their market share and raw distribution first. But rotation is what determines whether you stay listed.”

What Really Moves Conversion at The Moment of Truth

When it comes to influencing the purchase decision in a pharmacy, several levers consistently move the needle. First and foremost is availability. No amount of medical or marketing investment compensates for a product that is not there when the pharmacist wants to recommend it. “Availability is almost an obsession in pharmacy,” Alba says. “You can invest heavily in medical visits and specialist teams, but if the product is not there when the pharmacist wants to recommend it, you lose.”

Next comes the recommendation, medical or pharmacist-led. Medical prescription carries authority, but the pharmacist’s advice often becomes the final filter. Increasingly, influencer prescription also plays a role, particularly in dermocosmetics and adjacent categories.

Visibility and memorable execution can act as powerful accelerators. Alba recalls a striking example from her early years in marketing at Colgate, working on the cleaning category with the Ajax brand. Together with Porcelanosa, the team installed fully functioning hydromassage showers in around 40 Alcampo hypermarkets to demonstrate Shower Power, a product that promised that if used daily, you would never have to clean your shower again. “It was madness,” Alba recalls. “Conversion increased by around 500%. Everything moved; sales, consideration, brand image.” The case remains a clear illustration of how breaking routine at the point of purchase can fundamentally shift behaviour.

At the same time, Alba warns against a common but dangerous mistake: organising assortments and communication around the wrong decision tree. When brands assume that attributes such as texture or format drive choice, while in reality the driver is brand, the result can be an immediate and dramatic sales drop. Understanding how shoppers actually decide it is fundamental.

“Availability is almost an obsession in pharmacy; you can invest heavily in medical visits and specialist teams, but if the product is not there when the pharmacist wants to recommend it, you lose.”

Why Focus And The Long Term Matter More Than Ever

To understand whether an intervention truly works, Alba strongly believes in disciplined measurement. During her years at Colgate, this meant working with retailers to access internal store-level data, setting up pilot and control stores, and isolating the true effect of an intervention from market noise. Assumptions are easy; attribution is hard, but essential.

However, measurement alone is not enough. Alba is convinced that short-term tactics only make sense when anchored in a clear long-term ambition. “I strongly believe in long-term objectives: 10 years, 5 years. You need a clear strategic foundation so that short-term objectives make sense. Without a long-term goal, short-term goals lose their meaning.”

Among all growth levers in pharmacy, one stands out above the rest: training. Educating the pharmacy team, not just pharmacists, but all staff, has the highest return on investment. Training gives confidence, language and clarity, and embeds the brand into daily recommendation behaviour.

“Pharmacies already went through one transformation; from closed counters to open spaces,” Alba says. “But a second transformation is coming. Pharmacies must decide what they want to be: perhaps the pet pharmacy, or the dermocosmetics pharmacy, depending on their environment. That’s where market research companies should help them understand their surroundings and identify how they can differentiate.”

Today’s shopper journey includes countless touchpoints, from the counter to Amazon to AI-driven recommendations. The challenge is not to control them all, but to prioritise the ones that matter most. Clear pharmacist talking points, educational materials at the counter, and perfectly optimised product pages online often carry more weight than being present everywhere.

“Pharmacies must decide what they want to be, depending on their environment. That’s where market research companies should help them understand their surroundings and identify how they can differentiate.”