Are community pharmacies the best purchasing channel for cosmetic products? Prioritization of consumer preferences via analytical hierarchy process

Background and Aims: Many different purchasing channels play an essential role in meeting cosmetic product demand worldwide. These include supermarkets, cosmetic markets, community pharmacies, beauty salons, internet retailing, and shopping complexes. This study's main objective is to prioritize consumers' cosmetic product purchasing channel preferences. The originality of this study lies in being the first study that addressed customers' choice of cosmetic product purchasing channels via the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). Methods: Firstly, a questionnaire was conducted (n=287) to determine cosmetic product purchasing channel selection criteria. Cosmetic product purchasing channel alternatives were prioritized among the first questionnaire results via the AHP with 12 consumers who reside in the city center of Van, Turkey and buy at least two cosmetic products per year. Results: As a result of the study, community pharmacies (46.9%) were found to be the best alternative among the cosmetic product purchasing channels, followed by cosmetics stores (24.1%). The most important criterion affecting the selection of cosmetic product purchasing channels is satisfaction with the consultancy (25.2%), followed by advice from health care providers (22.1%). Conclusion: It has been observed that consumers prefer community pharmacies more than other purchasing channels when purchasing cosmetic products. Understanding customer needs, expectations, and experiences is vital for optimizing the quality of the offered service. Thus, pharmacies with a significant market share in the cosmetics sector can further their cosmetics services by considering the consumer demands highlighted in this study. Keywords: Analytical hierarchy process, Community pharmacy, Cosmetics, Cosmetic product purchasing channel