Quick and Easy Medication Delivery with PhonePe's Pincode

PhonePe's e-commerce platform Pincode has expanded its rapid commerce strategy by launching a 10-minute medication delivery service in three cities. Currently offered in Bengaluru, Pune, and Mumbai, the service allows customers to order medications online around the clock and have them delivered in as little as ten minutes from local pharmacies. Pincode doesn't have a dark store model as the others do. Additionally, it states that it provides customers with free delivery and direct discounts from nearby pharmacies. According to a statement from PhonePe, customers can order both prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) medications via the recently launched service.

Helping Customers with No-Prescription

Consumers without a prescription can choose the "no prescription" option when adding medications to their cart. According to the statement, a licensed physician would then get in touch with the client to provide a free consultation and provide a digital prescription. The company's constant availability and free doctor-on-call service, according to Pincode CEO Vivek Lohched, are enhancing access to basic healthcare services and strengthening the place of local medical stores in the digital economy. This strategy guarantees that reputable medical stores continue to play a vital role in their communities while also promoting local economic growth. With the promise of delivering groceries and other goods in 10–20 minutes, Pincode launched its rapid commerce service in November 2024 in select areas of Bengaluru, Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, and Varanasi. PhonePe introduced Pincode in 2023 to sell food, clothing, groceries, and tech items on the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) platform. These categories were removed from the ONDC network last year when the platform began creating its own marketplace. By doing this, Pincode is changing its emphasis from being an app that serves buyers to one that serves sellers.

Quick Commerce Now Taking Dive in India’s Pharma Sector

The Indian rapid commerce ecosystem is expanding to other vital services, such as healthcare, after developing and meeting consumer demand for food and grocery delivery in ten to fifteen minutes. OTC medications are already available from rapid commerce behemoths like Zepto, Swiggy's Instamart, and Blinkit, but a number of companies are starting to appear to help clients get prescription drugs delivered quickly. Swiggy just launched an e-pharmacy on Instamart through a collaboration with Pharmeasy, and Flipkart is considering joining the market as well. Other platforms, such as Apollo 24/7 and Tata 1mg, are also at different phases of testing the delivery of medications instantly. After earning $25 million in its Series C funding round, healthtech startup Zeno Health launched a 50-minute medication delivery service in Mumbai last month.