The healthcare industry accounts for 18% of the US GDP. In 2017, US healthcare spending reached 3.2 trillion US dollars, making it truly the largest industry in the US. According to Milliman Medical Index data, medical expenses for a family of four in the US have increased by an average of 1,000 US dollars per year, reaching 27,000 US dollars in 2016. It is estimated that by 2020, the per capita medical expenses will reach 10,000 US dollars. Under such circumstances, patients will be more sensitive to the price of medical services, and will combine various factors such as price, quality, and convenience to ultimately make more reasonable choices.

Online procurement in the healthcare industry is growing rapidly, and sales on the Amazon site are growing even faster: in 2018, the online healthcare market grew by nearly 20% per year, while Amazon's healthcare business grew far more than this figure during the same period. Facing this trend, this article will analyze in detail the global market trends in the healthcare category, popular products from major sites, and compliance considerations to help sellers effectively seize dividends.

Click here for more popular product segmentation selection guidelines:
1. Medical and epidemic prevention supplies

Healthcare categories include: medical supplies, dental supplies, laboratory supplies, life sciences, chemicals, personal care and health, etc. This category mainly targets enterprise and institutional users, including dentists, nursing homes, and public hospitals, and even some offline pharmacies, beauty salons, nutrition vendors, gyms, etc.

Healthcare categories are growing significantly on Amazon Business:
1. Compared to 2017, the procurement volume of customers from the healthcare industry on Amazon Business increased by 188% in 2018, and sales exceeded 10 billion US dollars in 2018. Most purchases came from OTC products (that is, non-prescription products) and health and personal care products.
2. Up to now, the healthcare industry has become one of Amazon's four key vertical industries. 50% of the top 100 hospitals in the US and the 25 largest hospitals in Germany have begun corporate procurement on Amazon;
3. This trend continues to evolve. According to the market research agency CBInsights in the “Healthcare 2025 Research Report”, Amazon is the second most likely technology company in the world to impact the medical sector.

It is no coincidence that purchases in the health care category have increased on Amazon Business. The reason for this is that 2 major advantages help run Amazon's healthcare path:

America's pharmaceutical and medical product supply chain is complex, filled with lucrative intermediaries, and a business model that lacks focus on consumer experience has given Amazon a competitive advantage in this field. For example, when healthcare products are delivered from manufacturing plants to patients, there are at least three parties involved, and each party must earn at least a percentage of the profit from it. Amazon Business has strong FBA logistics. Enterprise buyers only need to pay 179 US dollars a year to enjoy a full year of unlimited free shipping service. Users and manufacturers are seamlessly connected, breaking traditional agency and distribution models, simplifying the supply chain, shortening the product procurement cycle, and improving cost and experience issues.

In order to facilitate trade between buyers and sellers, Amazon has set up an exclusive purchasing page (www.amazon.com/ medstore) for the healthcare category. Professional qualified buyers can register to join the Professional Healthcare Buyer Program (Professional Healthcare Account) through the following dedicated page, so they can purchase restricted products online. For example, when applying for an Amazon business buyer account, dentists can also purchase professional dental surgical instruments online (such products are only open to professional healthcare account buyers)

In addition to mastering online pharmacies, Amazon has acquired the supermarket chain Whole Foods Market (Whole Foods Market), which can not only provide organic and health foods, but also establish physical pharmacies. Online and offline linkage and big data application development can provide a service experience that traditional pharmacies cannot provide.

Most of the customer groups in the healthcare category are pharmaceutical factories, hospitals, non-emergency centers, pharmacies, schools, and specialized institutions such as scientific research and testing. However, most life sciences, chemical reagents, etc. are dangerous goods and are not suitable for sale by cross-border sellers. It is recommended that Chinese sellers can focus on laboratory supplies, unspecialized medical supplies, and personal care and health categories. Next, we will analyze each category in detail for you.

Laboratory supplies must be mentioned first in the medical and health category. They are scientific research products used by medical institutions, scientific research institutions, hospitals, and schools. They have a wide range of uses, are huge, have considerable profit margins, and can easily pass audits, and the threshold is relatively low.

Most laboratory instruments and equipment fall under customs code 90, that is, “instruments and equipment for optical, measurement and inspection”. Customs statistics show that China's exports of this type of product reached 70 billion US dollars in 2017. The main export regions are: the United States, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Germany and other countries and regions.

Since laboratory products are very popular on North American and European sites, and there are differences in the types of popular products, we will divide them into sites to bring you specific analysis.

According to incomplete statistics, the US laboratory testing market had a capacity of 75 billion US dollars in 2015, including hospital laboratories, private clinic laboratories, and third-party independent laboratories (agencies that provide medical diagnosis outsourcing services to medical institutions other than independent medical institutions). In addition to being required for routine testing in medical institutions and independent laboratories, laboratory supplies are also scientific research equipment for institutions of higher learning and K12* teaching and laboratory equipment.

Laboratory supplies categories include laboratory utensils (Labware & Labware), laboratory instruments (Lab Instruments & Equipment), chemical reagents (Lab Chemicals), laboratory furniture (Lab Funiture), laboratory supplies (Lab Supplies & Consumables), and life science supplies (Life Science Supplies).

Laboratory instruments sound tall. Sellers are advised to pay more attention to simple testing and analysis instruments. Of course, if you can provide corresponding localized pre-sales or after-sales service support, you can also consider trying high-end equipment.
Of course, it is also possible to target different customer groups and sell in different levels.
Taking microscopes as an example, K12 American basic education and individual enthusiasts have lower requirements for the accuracy and distribution rate of microscopes, which generally cost less than 200 US dollars; however, for higher academic research institutions or medical tests, they require higher accuracy and more complex functions. If there are functions such as image scanning output and cloud synchronization, the price generally ranges from 500-2000 US dollars.

The laboratory utensils market has a large capacity, accounts for nearly 1/4 of the market volume of laboratory supplies, and most of them are consumables. These glass and plastic products are suitable for package sales, and different specifications can also be sold in combination to avoid breakage problems during logistics, and also bring large profit returns to sellers.

Most laboratory consumables are used in combination with laboratory products, and people often miss them. However, in fact, they have a lower threshold. Chinese sellers can cut in from this aspect; it is recommended that they be sold in a box or in a set. At the same time, some mainstream famous American brands are also selling, so Chinese sellers can seize the opportunity to target local American brands.

For laboratory supplies, since most high-priced products have pre-sales or after-sales issues, sellers who lack local after-sales service support may consider starting with products with a customer unit price of less than 1,000 US dollars to meet mainstream market needs.

As of June 2018, Amazon Business has been launched at all five major European sites in the UK, Germany, France, and West Italy. Among them, the UK and Germany sites with the most visits and customer purchases, the top 20 universities in the UK and the top 25 hospitals in Germany are loyal customers of Amazon Business laboratory supplies.

Compared to 2017, the overall sales growth of laboratory supplies on Amazon Europe reached three digits in 2018. Chinese sellers can pay particular attention to the selection of laboratory equipment and laboratory utensils.

Laboratory instrument products, especially Digital Vernier Caliper Micrometer (Digital Vernier Caliper Micrometer), Infrared Thermometer Gun (Infrared Thermometer Gun), PH Test Paper Strips (Universal pH Test Paper Strips), Depth Gauge (Depth Gauge), Measuring Calliper (Measuring Calliper), and Thermometer (Thermometer) are the most popular sellers in the UK and Germany A popular choice. Due to its low threshold and high cost performance, Chinese sellers can choose some temperature measurement, distance measurement, and depth measurement products. The best price is around 10-25 euros.

As a high-consumption product among experimental products, glass and laboratory utensils are low-threshold products that Chinese sellers can focus on developing, especially dropper bottles (dropper bottles), glass straws (glass teardrop pipettes), measuring bottle sets (Squeeze Measuring Bottle Wash), plastic test tubes (plastic test tubes), and multi-purpose transparent bottles (Flat-bottomed Plastic) Clear Test Tubes with Screw) products can provide cost-effective and hybrid packages, and keep the price range between £5-20 per Euro.

In the US, according to the FDA's risk classification: According to the different risk levels that medical and health products may pose to patients or users in clinical use, and the different regulatory requirements formulated by the FDA on this basis, it is determined which level the product ultimately belongs to. Class I is the lowest risk, and Class III is the highest risk.

Class I: Lowest risk to patients or users; simple design; accounts for about 47% of the medical supplies category.
Class II: poses a certain risk to patients or users; the design is more complicated than Class I; about 43% of the medical supplies category; Class II can also be subdivided into Class IIA and Class IIB.
Class III: Mostly used to support life systems, or implantable, or may cause unexpected harm to users or unpredictable disease risks; complex design; accounts for about 10% of the medical supplies category.

Among them, Class I products are mainly OTC (Over the Counter) products, that is, non-prescription products, including everything in the Amazon Health and Personal Care catalog, wheelchairs, tags, pens, containers, and other items that do not enter the patient's body. It is recommended that such products can be sold online if they meet the requirements of the relevant regulations of the export target country.

Most of these types of products are popular products, and you can expand in three directions.
1. Choose high-quality products with a good sense of experience and strive for an experience comparable to a SPA
2. Provide portable products that are easy to use, such as handheld percussion/electric massagers, handheld massagers, handheld mini massagers, etc.
3. Discover multi-functional products that can be heated, such as percussion and heating massagers

In April 2019, Amazon announced the launch of 6 types of Alexa medical skills that comply with the HIPAA Act (HIPAA) (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act), which means that it can not only remind the elderly to take medication and manage blood pressure at home, but also provide a better experience for hospitalized patients. In the medical field, Amazon uses Alexa as a medium to both serve consumers (including business users) and connect developers. When developing such personal care and health products, in addition to considering versatility and practicality, Chinese sellers can also combine intelligent voice with medical products to create voice-based medical experiences for consumers.

In order to help sellers better seize the blue ocean of healthcare product selection opportunities, we have specially prepared a medical category review trilogy to help you easily resolve product compliance issues.

If you want to export medical products to the US market, you first need to determine whether your product is a “Medical Device” (Medical Device). The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) defines a wide range of medical devices. From simple tongue depressors to complex laser surgical devices, they are medical devices.
If all sellers don't know whether the products they sell are medical devices, you can search the CDRH database on the US FDA website (as shown in the screenshot below). If the matching results are not enough to help you determine whether your product is a medical device, you can also write an email to DeviceDetermination@fda.hhs.gov and make a decision through email.

Once you have determined that your product is a medical device, what you need to do is determine the medical device class (Class) of the product, because the applications required for Class I to Class III medical devices are completely different. Generally speaking, Class I and Class II are exempt from pre-sale notification applications (commonly known as Premarket Notification [510 (k)]). However, if your product is a Class III medical device, you need to apply for a pre-sale notice from the FDA. Also, almost all medical devices require GMP certification. GMP, the full name of Good Manufacturing Practices, mainly requires the provision of documentation to prove that the manufacturer has a qualified quality management system and corresponding product packaging and labeling control. See below for all FDA Class I and Class II product categories.

In addition to product compliance requirements, selling this category requires additional attention that misuse of the FDA logo may violate US federal law — the FDA logo can only be used by official US government agencies. It may not be used to represent any agency or private organization. Therefore, sellers, please do not mark “FDA Approved” or use images with the FDA logo on product detail pages. You can learn more about FDA logo usage requirements on the FDA website: Is It Really 'FDA Approved? '

Amazon policy requires that certain topical healthcare products sold through the Amazon website meet specific certification standards. The categories that need to be reviewed are:
• Dietary Supplements (Dietary Supplements)
• Sports nutrition
• OTC Medications (OTC Drugs)
• Baby Topicals
• Baby food (Baby Food)
• Feminine Hygiene Products (Feminine Hygiene)
• Birth control pills (contraceptives)
• Medical Supplies/Equipment (Medical Supplies/Equipment)

In order to sell these products on Amazon, you must first submit the required qualification documents:

The healthcare category is huge, growing rapidly, and the future is promising. Currently, Chinese sellers still have many opportunities, so everyone can seize the opportunity to act!If you are already working in this category, then bring this medical and health analysis and product selection guide, it will definitely let you explode orders and soar sales every minute!I wish all sellers great success and global sales!