Walmart takes on Amazon in prescription delivery race

USA—Walmart, the American multinational retail corporation, has announced plans to launch nationwide prescription delivery services starting early next year to compete with Amazon for healthcare market share.

This move follows Walmart’s April 2024 announcement to shut down all its healthcare clinics and virtual medical services, citing challenges in making those operations profitable.

 The abrupt closure marked a reversal for Walmart, which had invested heavily in healthcare five years ago by opening medical centers next to its superstores, offering primary care, urgent care, X-rays, and dental services.

The new prescription delivery service will allow Walmart customers to receive medications, including new prescriptions and refills, along with their groceries and other products.

Walmart, based in Bentonville, Arkansas, stated that the service will be available to over 86% of U.S. households, with deliveries made in as little as 30 minutes.

Currently, the service is live in Arkansas, Missouri, New York, Nevada, South Carolina, and Wisconsin, and it is expected to expand to 49 states by the end of January 2025, potentially reaching tens of millions of customers.

Tom Ward, Walmart U.S.’s executive vice president and chief ecommerce officer, emphasized the convenience of the service, stating, “If you’re sick, we can deliver the necessary medicine along with everything else you need to feel better: cough drops, a heating pad, a blanket, and orange juice.”

 He highlighted Walmart’s size, resources, and expertise as key advantages over other retailers in the prescription delivery space.

The new delivery option will be free for members of Walmart+, the retailer’s paid subscription service. Non-members, however, will pay US$9.95 per order.

Prescriptions will be filled at Walmart’s nearly 4,600 in-store pharmacies and delivered to customers’ homes in tamper-proof packaging.

Medications requiring refrigeration or classified as controlled substances, such as opioids, are excluded from home delivery. Additionally, Walmart continues to offer prescription drug delivery via mail order.

US retail giants push into online Prescriptions

Walmart’s expansion into online prescription services follows a similar move by Amazon, which recently announced plans to open pharmacies in 20 new U.S. cities in 2025.

Amazon aims to offer same-day prescription delivery to nearly half of the U.S. population by the end of next year, intensifying competition in the online healthcare market.

CVS and Walgreens, two other major pharmaceutical industry players, already provide same-day home delivery for prescription medications.

 However, the pharmacy sector has been facing significant challenges, with independent locations and large retail chains closing stores nationwide due to low reimbursement rates for pharmacy care and inadequate dispensing fees for Medicaid enrollees.

According to an August 2024 study published by the Journal of the American Medical Association, nearly half of U.S. counties have communities located more than 10 miles from the nearest pharmacy.

The trend of pharmacy closures continues to affect major chains as well, with Walgreens recently announced plans to close 1,200 stores over the next three years, citing low drug reimbursement rates as a key factor.

Similarly, CVS and Rite Aid have closed hundreds of pharmacy locations across the country, reflecting the industry’s broader struggles.

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