In recent news, Amazon’s pharmacy business is expanding its physical presence and targeting increased revenue from the new class of weight loss drugs. After struggling to establish itself in the U.S. healthcare market, Amazon partnered with Eli Lilly in March to deliver Zepbound, a weight-loss drug, to consumers. The company also expanded its same-day pharmacy delivery service to New York City and greater Los Angeles.
To support its expanded delivery services, Amazon Pharmacy opened its first physical location in California on May 29. The pharmacy is located next to an Amazon fulfillment center in Corona and is intended to facilitate same-day deliveries. This location is one of twelve nationwide, with others in states such as New York, Indiana, Texas, and Florida.
While Amazon is confident in its pharmacy business, its success remains to be seen as the company does not disclose financial information for this division. This expansion comes at a time when Walmart announced the closure of all 51 of its health centers in April due to lack of profitability. Despite this, Walmart still operates 4,600 pharmacies nationwide and remains a major competitor to Amazon in the pharmacy space.
