Amazon enhances delivery of medications, groceries
Amazon is implementing some major improvements to how it stores and distributes pharmacy and grocery items.
First, Amazon Pharmacy, a full-service online pharmacy that offers 24/7 access to pharmacists and free delivery on prescription medications from Amazon or any other pharmacy of choice, plans to open pharmacies in 20 new cities across the U.S. in 2025, more than doubling the number of cities where customers can get same-day delivery of their medications.
The new pharmacies will be embedded in Amazon same-day delivery sites in metropolitan areas including Boston, Dallas, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, and San Diego. Other cities will be announced in the coming months.
By the end of 2025, nearly half (45%) of U.S. customers are expected to be eligible for same-day delivery of their prescription medications. In most cases, that means a customer can order medication by 4 p.m. and receive it at home by 10 p.m.
As Amazon Pharmacy launches pharmacies customized to meet the need of new cities, their positioning within larger same-day delivery sites will enable Amazon clinical teams to manage the full prescription review and packaging process.
The new, smaller pharmacies complement Amazon Pharmacy’s existing automated pharmacy fulfillment sites that feature robotic arms and other automation, overseen by licensed pharmacists and pharmacy technicians.
[READ MORE: What Amazon’s robotic fulfillment centers reveal about e-commerce]
"In health care, speed and accessibility are critical for positive patient outcomes," said Dr. Vin Gupta, chief medical officer of Amazon Pharmacy. "There's often an important window of time after getting diagnosed when it's most vital to start your medication. At Amazon, we're using our world-class delivery capabilities to get medicine to patients within hours of being prescribed. This rapid access increases the likelihood patients engage immediately in their care and adhere to treatment routines, which is shown to improve health outcomes."
Amazon streamlines online grocery shopping
Amazon is also undertaking several initiatives to make it easier for shoppers to browse and buy groceries for fast online delivery. These include trial in the greater Phoenix area where customers can shop tens of thousands of grocery items, including fresh groceries, alongside millions of other products and have them delivered together in hours.
The e-tailer is also expanding its range of products within some of its Amazon Fresh fulfillment centers. Customers can combine items from Whole Foods Market, Amazon Fresh and non-grocery items from the Amazon site in a single Amazon Fresh order.
The company has modified 26 Amazon Fresh fulfillment centers around the world to offer this model. Based on customer response, Amazon plans to convert more of our existing fulfillment centers over time to give more customers access to its broad product selection in one digital shopping experience.
In addition, at a Whole Foods Market store in Plymouth Meeting, Penn., Amazon is building its first-ever automated micro fulfillment center to supplement the assortment with popular essentials from Amazon.com and favorites from Amazon Fresh.
Micro-fulfillment technology uses automated robots to retrieve grocery items from a compact in-store storage center for streamlined picking. Customers will have three options to seamlessly shop the store’s combined range of products: order online for fast at-home delivery or in-store pick-up, or shop in person at the store.
