As pharmacies across the US struggle, Amazon plans 20 new pharmacies next year.
In a cost-cutting move, Walgreens said earlier this month it would close 1,200 stores over the next three years.
Rite Aid, meanwhile, has closed hundreds of brick-and-mortar locations across the country after filing for bankruptcy in October 2023, leaving thousands of customers without a local pharmacy to pick up vital medications.
However, Amazon is taking a different approach to the traditional pharmacy, introducing a digital-first pharmacy that delivers to a customer’s door – much like their e-commerce site.
Customers in 20 new locations, including Boston, Dallas, Minneapolis, Philadelphia and San Diego, will be able to get free expedited prescription drug delivery by 2025, the company announced.
As pharmacies across the US struggle, Amazon plans 20 new pharmacies next year
“Amazon is leveraging its vast logistics network and advanced automation technology to solve one of pharmacy’s biggest pain points: the lack of convenient, affordable access to medications,” the company said in a statement.
The new pharmacies will be embedded in Amazon’s Same-Day Delivery sites, and customers will also have 24/7 access to a pharmacist.
The company predicts that by the end of 2025, 45 percent of U.S. customers will be eligible for same-day delivery of their prescription drugs.
In most cases, this means that a customer can order medicine before 16.00 and receive it at home at 10 p.m., Amazon said.
The acceleration of Amazon Pharmacy, which launched in 2020, comes as companies such as CVS, Rite Aid and Walgreens have announced mass closings and layoffs.
The latest store closing announcement from Walgreens earlier this month means that by 2027, one in seven Walgreens will have closed its doors.
The move comes as part of new chief executive Tim Wentworth’s bid to turn around the struggling pharmacy chain.
Rite Aid has closed hundreds of brick and mortar locations across the country after filing for bankruptcy in October 2023
The new pharmacies will be embedded in Amazon’s Same-Day Delivery sites, and customers will also have 24/7 access to a pharmacist
The acceleration of Amazon Pharmacy, which launched in 2020, comes as companies such as CVS, Rite Aid and Walgreens have announced mass closings and layoffs
Experts have blamed the growing popularity of online drug services and financial difficulties for many closings of brick-and-mortar operations.
Chains have been hit by falling prescription reimbursements, rising costs, persistent theft and consumers switching to online retailers or lower-priced competitors.
Amazon Pharmacy said it is providing a solution to the growing prevalence of “pharmacy deserts” across the United States.
A recent study found that nearly half of US counties have communities over 10 miles from the nearest pharmacy, and traditional mail-order prescriptions can take up to 10 days to arrive.
“We are innovating healthcare delivery to meet customers where they are — online, on the go and at home,” John Love, VP of Amazon Pharmacy, said in a statement.