The competition to deliver same-day prescriptions to your doorstep is heating up as pharmacy chains become more digital-friendly and online retailers jump into the business.¹

Time is money for Americans. In fact, Empower research shows that 36% of Americans would rather pay more to get an item delivered instead of driving 10 minutes to get it.

Trips to the drugstore can take much longer, thanks to a shortage of pharmacists and a wave of store closures in recent years.² A recent study found that roughly 30% of Rx locations shut down between 2010 and 2021, creating “pharmacy deserts” in some areas.³

There are several reasons for the drugstore decline, including over-expansion, the rise of digital shopping, increased competition from grocery and retail chains, and lower drug reimbursement costs from pharmacy benefit managers.⁴

Read more: What can I use my HSA for?

Going digital 

The trend has given the industry a chance to retool, with a greater focus on faster transactions and customer experiences. Industry analysts don’t think retail pharmacies will go away, especially as the population ages and more people need prescriptions.⁵

Walgreens has been experimenting with smaller stores and a digital-first focus, with features like online check-ins and virtual communication between customers and pharmacists.⁶ Increased automation is also a focus, including robot-powered micro-fulfillment sites that operate separately from its stores.⁷

Both Walgreens and CVS have expanded delivery services as they also try to right-size their stores in the digital shopping era.^8,9

Betting big on delivery 

A 2024 study found that 33% of US consumers purchase prescriptions and other healthcare products online.¹⁰

Big retailers are looking to take advantage of that trend. Amazon is adding same-day delivery of meds to 20 cities by the end of 2025, in part by embedding pharmacies in its same-day warehouse facilities.¹¹

The Amazon Pharmacy brand ── which emerged from the company’s 2018 acquisition of mail service PillPack ── is also planning to offer discounts on generic and brand drugs and a savings benefit plan for customers paying without insurance.¹²

Walmart is offering 30-minute prescription deliveries in some areas, with the option of adding groceries and other goods to orders. The retailer plans to expand the service from 6 states to 49 states this year, saying that prescription delivery is the most requested service by its customers.¹³

Logistical demands, specialty meds 

Retailers aren’t the only ones jumping in. United Parcel Service is expanding its $10 billion health-care logistics service, UPS Health, which delivers refrigerated medications, lab samples and tests, medical devices, and other supplies to businesses and consumers.¹⁴

The growing popularity of injectable appetite-suppressing medications like Ozempic and  Wegovy can be particularly lucrative because the GLP-1 drugs require specialized packaging and refrigerated storage and shipping.¹⁵

Meanwhile, a growing number of pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer and Eli Lilly are ramping  up direct sales to consumers.¹⁶

Read more: GLP-1 medications: Transforming health and spending habits

Filling prescriptions 

One critical issue for any type of pharmacy is the ongoing shortage of pharmacists. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that there will be more than 14,200 openings for pharmacists each year for the next decade.¹⁷

That’s outpacing the number of pharmacy school graduates, which has declined in recent years.¹⁸

The job requires a Doctor of Pharmacy degree and a state license, and the median annual pay is $136,030.¹⁹ Efforts are underway to add more prestige to the position, from eliminating phone and data tasks to having pharmacists themselves write prescriptions.²⁰

The jury is out on whether deliveries will eventually overtake physical drugstores for most prescriptions. Industry professionals are expecting some sort of equilibrium as more drugstores close and others are revamped with a greater focus on customer service.²¹

Costs and convenience 

Both costs and convenience will be factors as consumers decide whether to scroll and click for their medications or take that trip to the local drugstore 

Competitive pricing will remain important as consumers look to beat inflation. Home healthcare for elderly or disabled family members was nearly 10% higher than a year ago, according to the latest CPI data.²²

The index for prescription drugs remained flat in December but was still slightly higher than a year ago.²³