1 CommentAs consumer behavior shifts alongside increased health and wellness awareness and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, demand for effective products to prevent and combat the cold, flu, and other respiratory viruses has been on the rise. Coupled with a broader growing interest in natural and organic remedies, these shifting consumer priorities – evidenced in recent Amazon product trends – can present a lucrative opportunity for brands, sellers, and retailers within this growing Amazon market segment.
We’ll share insights that will help identify those opportunities here, by analyzing recent trends alongside Jungle Scout Cobalt revenue and sales data that can power actionable strategies to help navigate this market and maximize success throughout the year. Read on to explore top-selling products, keyword search trends, and more.
Cold & Flu Relief
The 2023-2024 cold and flu season is proving to be a sales boon for many sellers on Amazon. Over the past 90 days, compared to the same period last year, this segment – excluding cough suppressants, which we’ll cover next — experienced a 39% surge in revenue and a 32% increase in unit sales. Interestingly, the median price remained relatively steady, suggesting that increased consumer demand, rather than price hikes, is driving the market growth. Let’s delve deeper into this trend by analyzing the top brands, their market share, and the best-selling products within the cold & flu relief market on Amazon.
Market Insights
Revenue: Up 39%
Unit sales: Up 32%
Median price: Up 5%
Competing brands: 519
*Data from Nov. 27, 2023 – Feb. 24, 2024, as compared to the year-ago 90-day period between Nov. 27, 2023 – Feb. 24, 2023.
Top Brands Competing for Cold & Flu Relief Sales
Market Share Leaders
| Mucinex | 17% (Up 13% YoY) |
| Vicks | 16% (Up 8% YoY) |
| Boiron | 10% (Down 32% YoY) |
| Amazon Basic Care | 8% (Up 59% YoY) |
| Beekeeper’s Naturals | 4% (Up 5% YoY) |
*Chart represents data from Nov. 27, 2023 – Feb. 24, 2024, as compared to the year-ago 90-day period between Nov. 27, 2023 – Feb. 24, 2023.
Leading Cold & Flu Relief Products
NyQuil Severe Cold and Flu Relief Liquid, from Vicks, rounds out the top three by revenue for the 90-day period from Nov. 28, 2023, to Feb. 26, 2024. Revenue for this period increased 718% compared to the year-ago 90-day period.
Boiron’s quick-dissolving Oscillococcinum tablets, which promise to relieve and shorten the duration of common cold and flu symptoms such as body aches, headache, fever, chills, and fatigue, ranked second by revenue over the past 90 days. Revenue for this homeopathic treatment rose 56% compared to the previous three-month period.
Zicam’s “cold-shortening” medicine has soared in popularity in recent years, and it’s revenue over the past three months is up 54% compared to the previous 90-day period.
See how to get Amazon insights on your market share, sales trends, competitors, and more. Book a Cobalt demo.
Cough & Sore Throat Remedies
Consumers battling coughs and sore throats — symptoms that can plague those suffering from colds, COVID-19, the flu, and the more recently surging respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, — have a diverse arsenal of remedies at their disposal on Amazon. This section delves into cough syrups and cough drops as separate market segments, analyzing Amazon sales and revenue trends alongside market share leaders and top-selling products over the past three months.
Cough Syrup Market Trends on Amazon
Market Insights
Revenue: Up 18%
Unit sales: Up 15%
Median price: Up 5%
Competing brands: 246
*Data from Nov. 27, 2023 – Feb. 24, 2024, as compared to the year-ago 90-day period between Nov. 27, 2023 – Feb. 24, 2023.
The cough syrup market on Amazon is experiencing moderate growth, seemingly driven by a combination of rising demand and price adjustments. Overall revenue in this segment was up 18%, unit sales were up 15%, and the median price increased 5% compared to the same period last year.
Top Brands Competing for Cough Syrup Sales
| Robitussin | 23% (Up 6% YoY) |
| Zarbee’s | 7% (Down 25% YoY) |
| Hyland’s | 7% (Up 28% YoY) |
| Amazon Basic Care | 6% (Up 6% YoY) |
| Delsym | 6% (Down 7% YoY) |
*Chart represents data from Nov. 27, 2023 – Feb. 24, 2024, as compared to the year-ago 90-day period between Nov. 27, 2023 – Feb. 24, 2023. Up/down percentages indicate the year-over-year increase or decrease in a brand’s market share.
Changes in market share among leading brands in this segment highlight an evolving landscape. While established brands like Robitussin remain dominant, the rise of private label options and the mixed performance of natural brands suggest consumers are increasingly open to diverse choices.
Trending Cough Syrup Products on Amazon
Robitussin’s combination of Adult Maximum Strength Cough and Chest Congestion DM Max has been a top choice among consumers on Amazon over the past three months. Revenue over this time period increased 83% compared to the preceding three-month period.
Hyland’s Naturals combo pack of Kids Cold & Cough, Day & Night and Immunity Gummies ranks in the top five cough syrup products by revenue for the past 90 days. However, compared to the previous three-month period, revenue declined 14%.
This children’s cold, flu & cough syrup from Tylenol is another best seller. Revenue for the past three months increased 100% compared to the prior 90-day period.
Cough Drops Market Trends on Amazon
Market Insights
Revenue: Up 37%
Unit sales: Up 63%
Median price: Down 1%
Competing brands: 223
*This chart represents data from Nov. 27, 2023 – Feb. 24, 2024, as compared to the year-ago 90-day period between Nov. 27, 2023 – Feb. 24, 2023.
The cough drop market on Amazon is experiencing higher growth than that seen among cough syrups. Overall revenue here is up 37%, while unit sales spiked 63% compared to the same period last year, indicating a strong increase in consumer demand.
Top Brands Competing for Cough Drops Sales
Market Share Leaders
| Halls | 16% (Down 25% YoY) |
| Ricola | 16% (Down 8% YoY) |
| Amazon Basic Care | 8% (Up 464% YoY) |
| Luden’s | 6% (Up 19% YoY) |
| Fisherman’s Friends | 5% (Down 21% YoY) |
*Chart represents data from Nov. 27, 2023 – Feb. 24, 2024, as compared to the year-ago 90-day period between Nov. 27, 2023 – Feb. 24, 2023. Up/down percentages indicate the year-over-year increase or decrease in a brand’s market share.
In contrast to movement seen in the cough syrups segment over the past year, long-standing market leaders Halls and Ricola, while maintaining significant presence, each lost market share. While this could be attributed to various factors, such as shifting consumer preferences, the increasing share of other players over the same time period can’t be overlooked.
Trending Cough Drop Products on Amazon
These honey lemon cough drops from Halls are a long-standing consumer favorite, and ranked as the top product in this segment on Amazon by revenue over the past three months. Revenue for this product from November through February increased 7% compared to the previous three-month period.
Amazon Basic Care’s similar but sugar-free cough drops experienced even greater revenue growth over the same time frame, rising 23%.
These uniquely packaged sugar-free, cherry flavored cough suppressant and sore throat lozenges from Fisherman’s Friends are another popular option this year. Revenue for the past three months increased 19% compared to the previous 90-day period.
See how to get Amazon insights on your market share, sales trends, competitors, and more. Book a Cobalt demo.
Spotlight: Immunity & Vitamin C Supplements
Prioritizing overall health and well-being remains top of mind for many, especially following peak years of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, consumers are increasingly seeking proactive solutions to support their immune systems, driving a surge in the popularity of immunity-boosting products and vitamin C supplements on Amazon. Here, we’ve rounded up the best sellers over the past three months.
Trending Immunity & Vitamin C Products on Amazon
Emergen-C leads this segment with its popular, 1,000mg Vitamin C powder. Its revenue for the past 90 days increased 314% over the previous three-month period.
This immune defense supplement from Clean Nutraceuticals has become a highly coveted winter product for many. Revenue increased 471% in the past three months.
Olly’s Immunity Gummy Starter Pack Bundle which incorporates a combination of echinacea, Zinc and vitamin C, is another trendsetter this season, experiencing a 89% increase in revenue.
Allergy Season Preview: Keyword Search Trends
Just as cold and flu season begins to wane, seasonal allergy sufferers are already preparing for the 2024 season, as evidenced by an increasing volume of related searches on Amazon over the past month.
Top five 30-Day Generic Amazon Keyword Search Trends
| allergy medicines | +169% |
| allergy eye drops antihistamine | +145% |
| non drowsy allergy pills | +102% |
| best allergy medicine | +71% |
| allergy relief | +56% |
Among brand-specific allergy keyword searches, those related to children have been higher than those without mention of kids over the past month, with the exception of Advil: Average weekly searches for “advil allergy” were up 107% in the last month.
Top five 30-Day Brand-Specific Amazon Keyword Search Trends
| children’s claritin chewables | +275% |
| liquid benadryl kids | +227 |
| zyrtec kids liquid | +111% |
| advil allergy | +107% |
| flonase nasal spray kids | +95% |
*Data in this section represents the percentage change in the average number of weekly searches for the Jan. 14, 2024, to Feb 17, 2024, period compared to the previous 30-day period.
Opportunities for Brands
The cold and flu market on Amazon presents a dynamic and lucrative opportunity for brands and retailers. As this analysis of Jungle Scout Cobalt data shows, the landscape is evolving, with shifting consumer preferences, emerging product trends, and a growing private label presence. By layering insights from the latest Amazon trends, market share data, sales trends, and consumer preferences, sellers can identify and capitalize on potential growth areas. This might involve:
- Expanding product offerings to cater to the growing demand for natural and organic remedies, immunity boosters, and convenient formats like gummies.
- Optimizing product listings and advertising campaigns to target relevant keywords and leverage data-driven insights for improved visibility.
- Developing strong brand differentiation that resonates with specific consumer segments, leveraging unique selling propositions and effective marketing strategies.
By staying ahead of the curve and adapting to the evolving landscape, both established brands and aspiring sellers can capitalize on the vast potential within the cold & flu product market on Amazon.
About This Report
The product data in this report is representative of the U.S. Amazon market. Market insights on Amazon products were sourced from Jungle Scout Cobalt, an industry-leading market intelligence, advertising optimization, and ecommerce reporting platform powered by trillions of Amazon data points.
We encourage you to share, reference, and publish this report’s findings with attribution to “Jungle Scout Cobalt” and a link to this page.
For more information, specific data requests, media assets, or to reach the report’s authors, please contact us at [email protected].
One comment on “Amazon Market Watch: Cold & Flu Season Trends & Top Sellers”