Amazon India To Now Sell Medicines Online; Starts Service From Bengaluru

E-commerce firm Amazon India has now forayed into online medicine space and launched Amazon Pharmacy. To begin with it has rolled out the service in Bengaluru and may carry out pilot projects in other cities too in coming months.

Amazon India To Now Sell Medicines Online; Starts Service From Bengaluru

In the wake of coronavirus pandemic amid the lockdown and social distancing norms, more and more individuals have now transitioned to online consultation, medical tests, treatment and medicine delivery. Startups in the healthcare vertical including the likes of 1mg, Netmeds, PharmEasy, Medlife and Practo are seeing a significant increase in demand as well as funding activity for these firms has outdone all other verticals across the startups.

"As a part of our commitment to fulfill the needs of customers, we are launching Amazon Pharmacy in Bengaluru allowing customers to order prescription-based medication in addition to over-the-counter medicines, basic health devices and Ayurveda medication from certified sellers. This is particularly relevant in present times as it will help customers meet their essential needs while staying safe at home," an Amazon spokesperson said.

The digital health market of India is seen expanding to $4.5 billion in this fiscal year in comparison to $1.2 billion in FY20 as per RedSeer Consulting. For the fiscal year 2025, the consultancy has raised its estimate of the market to $25 billion as against pre-Covid estimate of $19 billion. And of this online medicine delivery segment will continue to be a large chunk of the entire digital health market as per RedSeer.

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