The nationwide lockdown has resulted in people preferring to stay at home and buy online.

And due to this, online pharmacy companies have seen an exceptional surge in sales.

Though most of the brick-and-mortar pharmacy stores are still functioning, the fear of infection from coronavirus has resulted in people choosing to buy medicines online.

As per Dharmil Sheth (Founder of PharmEasy),

“The demand for overall medicines category has gone up by almost 100%.”

Acknowledging both the opportunities and challenges presented by the present situation, Pradeep Dadha (Founder and CEO of Netmeds) said,

“The ongoing lockdown has presented us with both opportunities and challenges.“

He added, “When we first realised the severity of the coronavirus crisis, we worked closely with our suppliers for stocks because we were conscious of our responsibility as a frontline player in the battle. We scaled up our technology and used AI to prevent hoarding by customers. We also ensured that all our delivery centres followed the most stringent measures in cleaning and sanitisation.”

Considering the present situation and customers’ sentiments, the online pharmacies are expected to grow 7 times to $3.7 billion by the year 2022.