China Online Pharmacy Market is Booming
At present, China’s pharmaceutical e-commerce industry and its related services have been continuously extended and developed sharply. Compared with offline pharmacies, online pharmacies are more diverse and can satisfy consumers' various medication needs.
The medical transaction services provided by pharmaceutical e-commerce enterprises include drug transaction services between drug manufacturers and medical institutions (B2B), as well as the services that provide medicine to end consumers (B2C). Many believe that the medical sector will be a key battleground for e-commerce and tech companies. Also, investors have seized the potential. Shares of key Chinese online pharmacy companies soared from 2020 to now.
According to EqualOcean, the scale of China’s pharmaceutical circulation and pharmaceutical e-commerce market has increased each year from 2013 to 2020. By 2026, China’s pharmaceutical distribution market is estimated to reach RMB 4,225 billion. E-commerce, as one of the key channels for the circulation of pharmaceutical goods, benefits from the growth of omnichannel online retail. JD showed that the market size of pharmaceutical e-commerce has reached RMB 97.8 billion at the end of 2020.
Meanwhile, China's policies are encouraging medical e-commerce. China SDG revealed that the system and specifications of medical e-commerce filing, review, business scope and price management are becoming clearer. Under the standardization and improvement of a series of policies, including online prescription drugs and electronic prescription circulation, huge opportunities are brought to medical e-commerce.
JD Health has become the largest pharmaceutical retail channel in the country. They provide comprehensive, smart and convenient medicine purchasing. Sales of JD Health jumped 76% year over year to RMB 8.8 billion in the first 6 months of 2020. Besides, another online pharmacy operator Dingdang Kuaiyao announced the completion of RMB 1 billion B-round funding in October 2020. It advertises itself as a service guaranteeing delivery of any medicine within 28 minutes, currently covers more than 10 provinces and cities including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.
China's pharmaceutical e-commerce has entered the development stage, although its development is slower than other commodity e-commerce. In addition, with the improvement of service quality, online medical services are likely to partially substitute offline medical services. The market researchers said that the integration of the industrial chain is a major trend. Customers can not only order medicine online but also receive online diagnoses and consultations.
JD Health, Photos from Financial Times
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