Amazon is revolutionizing the healthcare sector in the U.S. by expanding its same-day prescription delivery service to almost half of the U.S by 2025. This comes as a competitive move to upend traditional drugstore chains.
The company’s online pharmacy, Amazon Pharmacy, was launched in November 2020 and offers its service for Prime members at no extra charge. The imminent expansion will facilitate a wide distribution of its pharmacy services across multiple cities and states.
Amazon’s aggressive move into the drugstore market may pose a threat to existing industry leaders like CVS and Walgreens. The potential advantage Amazon has over these traditional stores is that it already has an extensive delivery network that it can leverage for this service. Also, by combining its prescription drug delivery service with the large customer base and purchasing power that comes with Amazon Prime, the company could be well positioned to gain a considerable market share.
Apart from offering fast and free delivery of medications, Amazon also hints at providing discounted medication for Prime members, including those on insurance or Medicare, which could lead to significant savings on prescription medications.
The move towards pharmaceutical delivery by Amazon could be driven by the considerable growth in the telemedicine sector, primarily accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The online pharmacy conveniently fits into this model, allowing patients to have their medication prescribed virtually and delivered the same day.
This step represents another impressive move by Amazon to increase its presence across diverse industries. With its wide user base and sophisticated delivery mechanisms, Amazon certainly has the potential to significantly disrupt the pharmacy industry.
In a nutshell, Amazon’s move to increase its same-day prescription delivery footprint is a transformative leap in the pharmacy industry. It will undoubtedly pose a challenge to existing pharmacies while offering consumers a new level of convenience and competitive pricing for their medications.