Like most cities, Bangkok, Thailand has hundreds of small drug stores but, unlike most cities, Bangkok only has two main chain drug stores – Watsons and Boots. Both are large, both sell thousands of items and both have over 100 locations. If you’re in Bangkok and looking for a big drug store or pharmacy, which of these two is better and why – Watsons or Boots? Look up our research about Thai pharmacies market on HappyMom.Life to get your answer. 

Selection of Items – Most of the branches of Watsons in Bangkok are larger than the branches of Boots. This obviously means, simply because of extra counter space, most Watsons sell more items than do Boots.

If you’re shopping for something simple like shampoo or hand lotion, this doesn’t really matter. But, if you’re looking for a specific brand of vitamins or a particular shade of lipstick, you’re more likely to find it at Watsons than Boots.

Average Prices – For most items, Watsons is cheaper than Boots. Most likely because their stores are bigger they can buy in larger bulk, or maybe because Watsons is far more popular than Boots they sell more things. Either way, for most products, Watsons tends to be at least 10% cheaper than Boots and, if you buy what you need in their frequent sales, you really can save money.

Sales – Both Watsons and Boots have sales often. Whereas Watsons will have large sales on many items, Boots may only have sales on specific items.

However, Boots does often run a 2 for 1 sale on Boots brands, so if you like Boots brand products (which are excellent quality), you can get a great deal when they have one of their sales. With sales like this running four or five times a year, you’re likely to come across one quite often.

As for Watsons, they do have excellent sales on hundreds of items and, also sometimes do the 2 for 1 style sales. With many sales items every week, keep checking your local Watsons store as you may find your favorite products have just gone on sale.

Pharmacies — Both Watsons and Boots have pharmacies in every store where you can buy over-the-counter and prescription only drugs.

You have always found both places to be excellent for what I need although, again, Watsons seems to carry more items so, if you’re looking for something a bit more hard to find, then you would try Watsons first. Unlike the smaller Thai pharmacies, both also always have English-speaking staff, so you won’t have a problem making yourself understood.

Overall, whether Watsons or Boots is the better drug store in Thailand is often down to personal taste. Unless, of course, you’re looking for the cheapest one, in which case Watsons will win out almost every time.

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