GLOBAL EPHARMACY MARKET SIZE  (2023 -2030)

In 2022, the Global EPharmacy / Online Pharmacy Market was valued at $73.24 Billion, and is projected to reach a market size of $317.02 Billion by 2030. Over the forecast period of 2023-2030, market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 20.1%.

Industry Overview:

The ePharmacy market is on a good growth trajectory majorly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic forced countries to go under lockdown which then made access to medication and healthcare difficult. The solution was provided by the ePharmacies which procure drugs in bulk from drug manufacturers or distributors and store them in a central warehouse. These drugs are distributed to consumers through delivery personnel via their official App. ePharmacy companies are employing various strategies to reach their potential customers by using targeted marketing campaigns. The emergence of electronic prescriptions has given wings to the industry. Electronic prescriptions have standardized the prescriptions and enabled them to be used to order medication online. Besides the medication, drugs, and medical equipment the ePharmacies also provide dosage and refill reminders.

But there are many challenges faced by the industry. These challenges stem from offline pharmacy shop owners’ unacceptance of online pharmacies and the government's stiff regulations. To overcome these challenges ePharmacies are complying with the FDA norms through licensing and other practices.

COVID-19 impact:

COVID-19 gave a major boost to the ePharmacy industry. COVID-19 pushed governments around the world to take strict measures to control the spread of the virus. This was achieved by imposing country-wide lockdowns, maintaining social distancing, and taking preventive measures such as keeping personal hygiene and taking vitamin supplements. These measures gave a major blow to the traditional Pharmacy shops as they suffered to generate revenues as people were staying at home to control the spread of the virus. So, to buy drugs and medical equipment people shifted to online pharmacy stores. These behavioral changes are the main reasons for the growth of the ePharmacy industry worldwide.

Market Drivers:

1. Lower prices of drugs available on ePharmacy platforms and increasing digital penetration are driving the growth of the ePharmacy Market

ePharmacies reduce the number of stakeholders in the supply chain which helps them reduce drug prices. The value chain of ePharmacies consists of Manufacturers or Distributors who provide the drugs to the ePharmacies. This stock of drugs is kept in the central warehouse and is delivered to customers via the official App. By removing the intermediaries such as wholesalers, e-pharmacies can procure drugs in bulk at a price lesser than the retailers can get. Hence, they can sell the drug at a heavy discount. Due to this reason, they are preferred by the customers as they’re able to get them at cheaper rates from the ePharmacies.

The increase in internet penetration all over the world has been a major driver of the growth of the e-commerce industry. Now, the fast internet is available at cheaper subscription plans. The prices of smartphones have also reduced significantly, making them affordable for a larger chunk of the population. These drivers have helped the growth of ePharmacies as people who now have easy access to the internet and smartphones can easily use these platforms to buy medicine.

2. The increasing Geriatric population and chronic diseases are driving the growth of the ePharmacy Market

The geriatric population is increasing worldwide which makes access to healthcare more important than ever. It is hard for older people living in nuclear families to go out of their houses, especially to buy drugs. epharmacies are providing these services to patients while they comfortably sit in their homes. Hence, ePharmacies become the go-to option for especially the geriatric population. e-pharmacies have been effectively targeting older people who are on medications. This has helped them in increasing the number of sales and provide overall growth. Along with the drugs the EPharmacy stores also provide dosage reminders, refills, and diagnostic test suggestions to their patients. These value-added services which are offered for free increase the retention rate of the customers on the platform.

The major customer base of ePharmacies consists of patients who are suffering from chronic diseases. People suffering from chronic diseases would require medication for a lifetime hence, these platforms are best for them. They can buy drugs conveniently online without having to go to offline stores frequently because they’re always in need of medication. This is the reason why a majority of the customers of these ePharmacies buy drugs for the treatment of chronic diseases such as diabetes, blood pressure, arthritis, skin diseases, etc.

Market Restraints:

1. Tough Government Regulations are restraining the growth of the ePharmacy Market

One of the restraints in the growth of the ePharmacy is due to privacy-related issues. E-commerce websites are known to collect users’ data and then target them with advertisements. They promote the buying behavior of customers and also sometimes collect the contact information of the customers. In this case, the customers are patients and they would want their information regarding their disease and treatment highly confidential. Buying medicines thus creates these privacy-related concerns which might deter them to use these services.

There are concerns regarding counterfeiting drugs and selling narcotics or prohibited drugs online. Due to these concerns ePharmacies faced a lot of challenges from the regulatory front. Initially, they were not allowed to operate in this business model but during the pandemic, it became the need of the hour. This pushed the governments to accept the ePharmacy business. But they would need to partner with an offline partner vendor who possesses a drug license. Additionally, there are problems regarding FDA approvals that are hindering the growth of this sector.

2. Competition from Offline players is restraining the growth of the ePharmacy Market

Initially, online pharmacies faced a lot of backlash from traditional pharmacy shops as they feared their business would be completely overtaken by them. The offline stores couldn’t keep up with the heavy discounts that online pharmacies were offering, forcing them to go out of business. These concerns united the offline pharmacy store owners and they filed legal cases against the online pharmacy firms accusing them of selling counterfeit drugs and narcotics. These situations can only be handled by making proper regulations for the operations of ePharmacies. Hence, offline players are a major threat to the success of ePharmacies.

There have been a few cases where it was found that some ePharmacies were selling counterfeit drugs. Legal action has been taken so far against those companies but the whole industry suffers because of this. The loss of customer trust due to these mishappenings is a major hindrance to the growth of this sector.

EPHARMACY MARKET REPORT COVERAGE:

This research report on the global ePharmacy Market has been segmented and sub-segmented based on drug type, product, and region.

ePharmacy Market - By Drug

1. Over the Counter

2. Prescription Drugs

ePharmacies main target is the patients suffering from chronic diseases. It provides them better customer lifetime value compared to OTC drugs. OTC drugs are the type of drugs that can be bought without a prescription prescribed by a Health Care Professional. Whereas, Prescription Drugs are those drugs that are only allowed to be sold if the patient has a prescription obtained from a Health Care Professional. Prescription is required for drugs that are used in the treatment of infections, high blood pressure, arthritis, et

ePharmacy Market - By Product Type

1. Skin Care

2. Other Product Type

3. Weight Loss

4. Vitamins

5. Cold and Flu

6. Dental

ePharmacy can also be segmented by the type of ailments. These ailments can be due to various pathological conditions such as skin problems, dental problems, cold and flu, vitamin deficiencies, weight loss, etc. There are mainly five types of ailments that control a majority of the shares in the EPharmacy market. The drugs required for the treatment of other diseases are also picking up demand rapidly.

ePharmacy Market - By Region

1. North America

2. Asia Pacific

3. Europe

4. Rest of the World

North America has currently the highest market in terms of valuation but Asia Pacific is the fastest growing region in the world. This is largely due to the presence of the US. NA has been at the forefront of e-commerce from the start which gives it a first mover advantage. But other regions such as Asia Pacific are also growing very fast. This is due to the availability of faster internet and smartphones at a cheap rate. The population in Asia Pacific is adopting the ePharmacies fast to get drugs conveniently at their home. COVID-19 lockdowns helped to propel this growth when people were not able to go out and needed a service that would deliver vitamin deficiency, common cold, and analgesic medicines to their doorstep.

ePharmacy Market - By Companies

The Online Pharmacy market is a moderately competitive market with a few major players.These Major players areOptum Rx Inc., CVS Health Corporation, and Axelia Solutions (Pharmeasy). They’re strategizing on various fronts to improve their supply chain and marketing communications. These players are constantly fighting against the competition provided by offline players. They are utilizing data and ML to increase their operational efficiency to reduce their variable costs.

1. CVS Health Corporation

2. Cigna Corporation (Express Scripts Holdings)

3. Giant Eagle Inc.

4. Optum Rx Inc.

5. The Kroger Co.

6. Walgreen Boots Alliance (Walgreen Co.)

7. Amazon.com Inc.

8. Axelia Solutions (Pharmeasy)

9. Apex Healthcare Berhad (Apex Pharmacy)

10. Apollo Pharmacy

11. DocMorris (Zur Rose Group AG)

12. Netmeds.com

NOTABLE HAPPENINGS IN THE GLOBAL REAL-TIME LOCATION SYSTEMS MARKET IN THE RECENT PAST:

• In 2022, Walgreens and Wing pilot tested their drone technology to deliver products using drones directly to the consumers

• In 2021, in India, Pharmeasy acquired MedLife, making them the largest player in the online Pharmacy industry. Pharmeasy has plans to issue an IPO and go public.

• In 2021, Flipkart, an Indian e-commerce company entered the online pharmacy sector with its Flipkart Health+ initiative. In this venture, they’ve acquired Sastasundar Marketplace Limited with which they’ve also acquired their online pharmacy platform, SastaSundar.com which would give them a head start in the sector.