Is medicines profitable to sell on Amazon United States?

The niche generates $3.2M/yr across 15 tracked products. 90-day search growth is -45.4%. Flapen's verdict: Worth a look (50/100).

How competitive is the medicines niche?

6 brands and 78 sellers compete. The top 5 products take 66% of clicks and top 5 brands hold 99% of demand.

What do buyers complain about in medicines?

Top complaints mined from reviews: Taste-Overall, Functionality-Overall, Value For Money. The return rate is 0.0%.

When does demand for medicines peak?

Demand peaks in Jan–Feb; the busiest month runs 4.5× the quietest.

What does it cost to enter the medicines niche?

Listings span $5.97–$34.09; the average listing price is $16.03 (sweet spot $15–$100). The average incumbent carries 5,065 reviews — the moat a new listing must climb.

Medicines

Worth a look

Shows low returns (0.0%), but soft demand (-45.4% this quarter) keeps it on the watch list.

Returns

Incredible0.0%

return rate — above 5% kills the launch gate

Conversion

Incredible17.2%

search→purchase rate — share of searches ending in a sale

Market size

Incredible$3.2M

$3.2M/yr · 1.2M searches

Avg price

Great$16.03

avg listing price — sweet spot $15–$100

Price range

Good$5.97–$34.09

cheapest to priciest tracked listing — scored on the share inside $15–$100

Competition

Okay66%

top-5 click share — leaders hold, buyers still browse

Review moat

Bad5,065

avg incumbent reviews — the moat a new listing must climb

Quality gap

Bad4.8★

avg incumbent rating — lower means beatable quality

Brand share

Bad99%

top-5 brand share — brand-locked demand

Growth

Bad-45.4%

90-day search growth — must beat 0% to launch

Is medicines profitable on Amazon?

According to Flapen's Amazon United States niche tracking, medicines is a $3.2M/yr Amazon United States market (1.2M searches/yr). The top 5 brands hold 99% of demand. Demand peaks in Jan–Feb. Verdict: Worth a look — 50/100.

Data updated Jul 11, 2026 · scored weekly · How we score niches

medicines market size & sales

Units sold, revenue, conversion and listing quality across the tracked shelf.

Units sold / yr: 200K–250K; avg 15,000–20,000/product
Revenue / yr: $3.2M–$4.0M; units × avg price
Conversion rate: 17.2%
Avg BSR: #172
Page quality: 0%
Prime: 100%
Sponsored: 73%
Out of stock: 0.0%
Avg brand age: 93 months
Avg seller age: 143 days

Competition: brands, sellers & click share

The top 5 products take 66% of clicks — established leaders, but buyers still shop beyond them.

Brands

6 rising

Sellers

Top-5 brand share

99%

Top 20: 100%

Top-5 click share

66%

Top 20: 100%

Open market

Vicks63%
Amazon Basic Care27%
AXIV4%
Amazon Basics3%
Tylenol2%
Mucinex1%
Open — no brand owns it (0%)

medicines demand & seasonality

Weekly Amazon search volume, last 104 weeks — -45.4% search growth over the last 90 days.

Peak months: Jan, Feb · busiest ÷ quietest = 4.5×

Open Trend

Top medicines search terms shoppers use

The exact queries shoppers type, with yearly volume, growth and conversion.

dayquil and nyquil pack709K/yr -48.9%19.3% conv.
nyquil dayquil combo pack136K/yr -50.0%17.0% conv.
day quill and night quil25K/yr -8.7%13.6% conv.
severe cold and flu medicine for adults22K/yr -0.4%6.3% conv.
cough and cold medicine for adults27K/yr -24.3%4.3% conv.
dayquil nyquil21K/yr -13.9%15.3% conv.
day and night cold and flu medicine17K/yr -22.8%11.1% conv.
severe cold and flu42K/yr -72.6%4.2% conv.
cold and cough medicine for adults14K/yr -20.8%3.9% conv.
dayquil and nyquil35K/yr -62.2%11.5% conv.

All search terms

Top medicines products & what they sell for

Every tracked product — its share of the shelf, its review moat, and what it sells for.

Each bubble is one product — market share against review moat; bubble size tracks estimated sales, color grades how beatable the incumbent looks.

Beatable (≤4.3★) Contested Strong incumbent (>4.7★)

All 15 tracked products in this niche — three views at once, no toggling.

Top sellers

by 90-day click share

Vicks DayQuil and NyQuil Severe Co-Pack Cold and Flu Medicine Powerful Relief for Headache Fever Sore Throat Minor Aches and Pains Congestion Sinus Pressure Stuffy Nose 48 LiquiCaps

Vicks$20.684.8★10,704 rev

Amazon Basic Care Vapor Ice Day and Night Severe Cold and Flu Relief Caplets Maximum Strength Multi-Symptom Medicine for Cough Sore Throat Nasal Congestion 48 Count

Amazon Basic Care$11.774.7★5,704 rev

Vicks DayQuil & NyQuil Co-Pack Cold & Flu Medicine Powerful Multi-Symptom Daytime & Nighttime Relief for Headache Fever Sore Throat Minor Aches & Pains & Cough 72ct

Vicks$23.094.8★8,406 rev

Amazon Basic Care Cold and Flu Relief Daytime and Nighttime Combo Pack Softgels for Multi-Symptom Relief Sore Throat Cough Nasal Congestion Headache 48 Count (Pack of 1)

Amazon Basic Care$9.614.7★7,387 rev

Vicks DayQuil & Nyquil Severe Cold Flu & Congestion Medicine 24 Count

Vicks$11.114.8★640 rev

Newest

by launch date

AXIV Day & Night Cold & Flu Medicine Combo Pack Softgels Daytime & Nighttime Relief for Headache Fever Sore Throat Minor Aches & Pains & Cough 48 Softgels

AXIV$13.06756 rev

1y ago

VICKS DayQuil & NyQuil Elderberry Flavor Cold & Flu Liquid Medicine Co-Pack Multi-Symptom Relief of Headache Fever Sore Throat Minor Aches & Pains Sneezing Runny Nose and Cough 2x12oz

Vicks$20.241,696 rev

2y ago

Vicks DayQuil & NyQuil Ultra Concentrated Liquicaps Co-Pack Cold & Flu Medicine Powerful Multi-Symptom Daytime & Nighttime Relief for Headache Fever Sore Throat Minor Aches & Pains & Cough 96ct

Vicks$34.091,662 rev

3y ago

VICKS DayQuil & NyQuil High Blood Pressure Cold & Flu Relief Liquid Medicine Co-Pack Powerful Multi-Symptom Daytime & Nighttime Relief for Cold Cough and Flu Symptoms Sugar & Alcohol Free 2x8oz

Vicks$14.872,496 rev

4y ago

Mucinex Fast-Max Cold and Flu & Nightshift Medicine for Adults Over-the-Counter Medication Combo Pack for Sore Throat Relief Decongestant Cough & Cold Medicine (2 x 6 Fl Oz)

Mucinex$20.385,449 rev

5y ago

What reviews say buyers love and hate about medicines

What buyers praise and complain about, mined from review topics.

What buyers love

Value For Money18%

“Very affordable”

Efficiency13%

“Works well”

Cold Relief13%

“Perfect for Colds”

Quality-Overall10%

“Just as good as name brand”

Advertised Vs Actual Product9%

“Was as advertised”

Sleep Quality5%

“sleep much better”

Cough Relief5%

“Helped with my coughing”

Ease Of Use2%

“easy to use”

Taste-Overall2%

“Caplets are nice instead of the nasty tasting liquid”

Fever Relief2%

“still effective at decongestant and fever relief”

What buyers complain about

Taste-Overall10%

“No real taste”

Functionality-Overall10%

“I CAN'T CUT THE GEL PILLS IN HALF”

Value For Money6%

“Not worth even the cheap price”

Size-Overall6%

“Bottles are smaller than the non-HBP”

Cough Relief5%

“coughing more than I should”

Quality-Overall5%

“Not as good”

Dosage4%

“Each pairs of pills are difficult to open”

Ease Of Use3%

“It is impossible to open the small pill packaging without scissors”

Cold Relief3%

“I had a bad cold”

Sleep Quality3%

“And disappointed that the night tabs didn't help me sleep at all”

Common medicines questions

Is medicines profitable to sell on Amazon United States?: The niche generates $3.2M/yr across 15 tracked products. 90-day search growth is -45.4%. Flapen's verdict: Worth a look (50/100).
How competitive is the medicines niche?: 6 brands and 78 sellers compete. The top 5 products take 66% of clicks and top 5 brands hold 99% of demand.
What do buyers complain about in medicines?: Top complaints mined from reviews: Taste-Overall, Functionality-Overall, Value For Money. The return rate is 0.0%.
When does demand for medicines peak?: Demand peaks in Jan–Feb; the busiest month runs 4.5× the quietest.
What does it cost to enter the medicines niche?: Listings span $5.97–$34.09; the average listing price is $16.03 (sweet spot $15–$100). The average incumbent carries 5,065 reviews — the moat a new listing must climb.