how big is e-pharmcy space ?
According to an EY report,
the addressable medicine market for e-pharmacies
is likely to reach $18.1 billion by 2023
from $9.3 billion in 2019,
a compounded annual growth rate of 18.1%.
if it grows aggressively,
the e-Health sector to reach
70 million households by FY2025,
why Amazon and reliance are interested in
this space ?
The Growth factor :
during lockdown,
The e-pharmcy segment has benefited from many
first-time customers
flocking to e-pharmacy apps
as they were forced to order medicines
from home
Moneycontrol reported on August 7, 2020
that these apps have seen orders surge 50
percent
and taken the sector forward by two years
in the last three months.
The Government Factor :
the indian government are focussing more on
healthcare
and schemes like Ayushman Bharat, National
Digital Health Mission.
and healthcare spending is likely to increased
from current 1.5% GDP
The digitization factor :
India has large base of smartphone users
and government is aggresively working on digitization
as announced on 15 august,
india is planning to connect its' 4.5 lakhs
villages
via high speed broadband in next 1000 days
also, e-pharmacy category is extremely large,
with a high frequency of purchase
which is easy to order online
and fits in a consumer’s life cycle very
well
as medicines are a vital purchase in a person’s
life,
especially for chronic patients
Convenience and discounts
it's very conveient for the customers
as they don't have to step out to get the
medicines
and it can be easily delivered to customer's
doorstep..
online e-pharma companies also providers high
discounts on medicines,
gives complete information regarding the ingredients
and sources of medicines
plus many other details about usage
on a single platform.
current comapnies in e pharma sector
There are around 50 startups in this space
now
e pharmacy platforms like Medlife,
Netmeds,
PharmEasy,
1mg
are some of the biggest name in this space..
reliance and amazon entry into e-pharma space
amazon has launched pilot programme : Amazon
Pharmacy
it will offer both over-the-counter
and prescription-based drugs,
basic health devices and
traditional Indian herbal medicine
Reliance Industries Ltd has acquired a majority
stake
in online pharmacy Netmeds
for about $83.08 million in cash
to start into e-pharmancy space
