Medicine developers that use pharmaceutical booklet labels could benefit from a relatively high level of trust in pharmacies among shoppers.

Furniture outlet CSL carried out a poll of consumers in the UK to identify which type of retailers they have the most faith in.

The survey identified a number of concerns on the high street, with more than eight out of ten saying the marketing strategies employed by retailers are often misleading.

However, the poll also indicated that pharmacies are generally regarded as more trustworthy than other types of store, Chemist + Druggist reports.

Indeed, nearly half of those surveyed said they had complete trust in them.

By contrast, overall consumer confidence was said to now be at a record low.

This backs up recent observations from Nationwide, which said spending confidence among consumers in the UK "fell significantly" throughout February 2011.

The group attributed this to factors such as high unemployment, rising inflation and the recent hike in VAT.

Denny Bros Ltd, 24 March 2011