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Dive Brief:
Meeting a top demand voiced by its customers, Walmart on Tuesday said it is expanding same-day delivery to include prescription medications. Eventually customers will be able to get prescriptions delivered within hours or as soon as 30 minutes.
The option is now available in six states — Arkansas, Missouri, New York, Nevada, South Carolina and Wisconsin — with plans to expand to 49 by the end of January.
Under this program, customers can include prescriptions, grocery items or both for delivery. Walmart+ members, who pay a $98 annual fee for a variety of benefits, will receive free pharmacy delivery, while non-Walmart+ members pay $9.95.
Dive Insight:
With the two major drugstore retailers in the U.S. in turmoil, Walmart is expanding convenience for its pharmacy customers, augmenting delivery services that the retail giant says reach 86% of households in the country.
“Our extensive footprint across the nation combined with our deep expertise in pharmacy uniquely positions us to make a profound impact in the communities we serve,” Kevin Host, senior vice president of pharmacy at Walmart U.S., said in a statement. “We understand that health care is not a one-size-fits-all solution. It’s hyper-local. Each community has unique needs. This new offering allows us to continue serving customers while also giving more time back to our pharmacies for high-touch health services.”
The move is a response to a survey of customers Walmart conducted a couple of years ago, which found that 55% would like prescriptions included in their grocery deliveries and other online orders; this was the top request of “Walmart customers who self-identified as time-sensitive, busy families,” the company said in a blog post.
Meanwhile, both Walgreens and CVS Health are downsizing. In a move to tighten its grip on expenses further, Walgreens last week said it will close 1,200 stores in the next three years. The company said its retail operations were a drag on its Q4 and full year results. In recent weeks CVS, also in the throes of cost-cutting, confirmed plans to lay off 2,900 employees. Both Walgreens and CVS have also shaken up their leadership over the last several months, with the latter replacing its CEO just last week.
Walmart is also scaling back some healthcare options, however, saying earlier this year that, due to high operational costs, it will end its telehealth services and shutter all 51 health centers. Even Amazon, which has entered the pharmacy and healthcare business in part through acquisitions, recently confirmed hundreds of layoffs in those areas.
