In June 2026, the Russian retail pharmaceutical market showed a redistribution of demand for drugs between megacities and tourist regions, characteristic of the summer season. Ahead of the July peak in tourist flows, major million-population cities recorded a decline in physical sales volumes compared to the previous month. In Moscow and Saint Petersburg, physical demand for medications in June decreased by 7% compared to May, while in the country's key resort region — Krasnodar Krai — retail pharmacy sales remained virtually unchanged over the month.

Analysis of the full tourist season confirms the growth in demand indicators in the pharmacy segment in coastal resorts, with peak activity in August. According to the "Retail Audit of Drug Sales in Russia (total sell out)" from the analytical company RNC Pharma, in August 2025, nearly 1 million packages of drugs worth RUB 391 million were sold in Gelendzhik. In Sochi, during the same period, sales exceeded 3 million packages, with total consumer spending in city pharmacies amounting to about RUB 1.3 billion. The main driver of summer demand in resort regions is adsorbents and antimicrobial drugs for the treatment of intestinal diseases. In Sochi, their sales show a sharp rise as early as June, increasing by 74% in physical terms compared to May, and in August, sales in this category show multiple-fold growth, exceeding June figures by 2.5 times. At the same time, in megacities, due to the outflow of population to the south, demand for profile "summer" drug categories declines or stagnates. For example, in Moscow, retail sales of intestinal adsorbents in June–July of last year increased by only 4%, and in August decreased by 1%. Overall, the capital's retail shows a decline in total sales volumes from June to July, with only weak positive dynamics at the end of summer. Similar trends are characteristic of Saint Petersburg: a full recovery and significant growth in the pharmacy markets of both capitals are recorded starting in September, after the mass return of residents from vacations.

Makhachkala shows a specific seasonal dynamic, where two pronounced peaks in pharmacy sales were recorded last year: the first, driven by the tourist factor, occurred in July (2 million packages), and the second coincided with the nationwide surge and formed in December (1.9 million packages). A fundamentally different seasonality pattern is characteristic of ski resorts, where, unlike coastal zones, maximum demand for medications shifts to January–February. A striking example of this feature is the North Caucasus resort of Arkhyz. The surge in demand here is concentrated during the New Year holidays: in January of this year, pharmacies sold over 19 thousand packages of drugs, almost four times higher than June 2025 figures. At the same time, the consumption structure at the ski resort is shifted toward antiviral drugs, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), as well as sore throat and runny nose medications. These therapeutic groups formed the basis of January spending by buyers in the settlement, accounting for 30% of total value revenue in the local pharmacy segment.