OTC medication retail sales in the U.S. 1965-2023

Published by

May 24, 2024

This statistic shows the total sales of OTC (over-the-counter) drugs in the United States from 1965 to 2023. For 2023, it was estimated that OTC sales in the United States reached more than 43 billion U.S. dollars. This is a significant increase in retail sales revenue from around 28 billion U.S. dollars a decade before in 2011). Vitamins, cold/allergy sinus tablets, and internal analgesics are among the most sold OTC product categories in the United States.

OTC online sales

Online sales of all types of OTC products have also grown in the United States as of 2020, with sales for most types of OTC products increasing by more than one hundred percentage points over the previous year. In that year, Instacart, Walmart, and Target were the leading merchants of online OTC products in the U.S. by growth.

Walgreens Boots Alliance

The Walgreens Boots Alliance is a leading U.S.-based pharmacy retail and wholesale company, operating pharmacies and drugstores globally. As of 2022, the Walgreens Boot Alliance was the leading drugstore in the United States with over 116 billion U.S. dollars in sales revenue, followed by the CVS Health Corporation. Similarly, both companies retain the same ranking when it comes to online sales revenue.

Total OTC drug retail sales in the U.S. from 1965 to 2023 (in billion U.S. dollars)

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Release date

2024

More information

Region

United States

Survey time period

1965 to 2023

Age group

Supplementary notes

Please note that figures differ depending upon the source and differing definitions as to what constitutes "OTCs." The 1995 sales figure represents a change in the way Nielsen defined an OTC drug and thus shows a greater increase than for other years. The number is more representative of the true OTC drug market as defined by the Food and Drug Administration. The statistic does not include vitamins/minerals/nutritional supplements.
* Excludes Wal-Mart.
** Due to methodology changes, including reporting from Wal-Mart and expanded coverage in club, dollar, and convenience channels, sales figures for 2009 represent a more complete picture of the OTC marketplace versus previous years. 2009 through 2013 totals include U.S. - all outlets (food, drug, mass, select club and dollar store retailers, convenience, and military stores. A few categories include a combination of OTC medicines as well as health-related products which are not classified as drugs by FDA.
*** Due to methodology changes in 2014, sales figures for 2011-2014 have been updated. These figures no longer include several categories included in 2010 and prior, which caused the figures to decrease.

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