A Comprehensive SWOT Analysis of PharmEasy – India’s Number One Healthcare & Medicine Delivery Platform

Quick Stats on PharmEasy

Founder	Dharmil Sheth, Dr Dhaval Shah
Year Founded	2014
Origin	Bangalore, India
No. of Employees	1,623
Company Type	Private
Market Cap	Rs 26,336.15 Crore (2021)
Annual Revenue	$ 86.75 Million (2020)
Net Income/ Profit	$ 5.6 Billion (2021)

Products and Services by PharmEasy

• Devices & Lab Tests
• Personal Care 
• Nutrition and Fitness Supplements 
• Ayurvedic Care 
• Homecare
• Baby & Mom Care

Target Audience of PharmEasy

The target market for PharmEasy consists of 42.08% women and 57.92% men. Ages 25 to 34 for both genders.

Here is a buyer persona of PharmEasy:

Now that we understand the company’s core business, let’s dive into the SWOT analysis of PharmEasy. 

SWOT Analysis of PharmEasy

SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and strengths. So, a SWOT analysis is a technique to assess these four important aspects of the businesses. 

Companies can use SWOT Analysis to make the most of what the businesses have got, to the organization’s best advantage. And you can reduce the chances of failure by understanding what the business is lacking, and eliminating hazards that would otherwise catch your unawareness. 

Let’s first start by analyzing the strength of PharmEasy from the SWOT analysis of PharmEasy.

Strengths of PharmEasy

• Increasing Internet Technology: With the expansion and increased usage of the Internet by people it has become so convenient for many to purchase things online. Especially after the pandemic and many businesses having shifted online, it’s an advantage for businesses like PharmEasy which has been run online since the beginning. 

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• Increase Use of Mobile Health Solution: With the introduction of mobile health operating systems and apps, information can now be shared with a move of the fingertips. As mobile health becomes more widespread, solutions are rapidly increasing.
• Ease of Payment: Convenient and less time-consuming payment methods.
• Less Costly: Physical store pharmacies have higher costs; because of many intermediaries being involved in the sale of pharmaceutical medicines. Online pharmacies will cater in bulk by selling online; thus reducing the cost of medicines.
• Convenient and User-Friendly: PharmEasy allows users to purchase the medicine just at the touch of the fingertip, the complete process is very convenient and user-friendly.

Weaknesses of PharmEasy

• Non-Trained Pharmacist: With things turning online there are also other untrustworthy people starting up their businesses which makes people question the authenticity of authentic providers/users. 
• Unsafe Delivery of Medicines: It should be made sure that the ordered medicine or product is delivered in time following all the health and safety requirements.
• The Belief of Fake & Low-Quality Medicines: Since the prices are made affordable for people, customers tend to think that discount means compromising quality.

Opportunities for PharmEasy

• Increase in Market Value: High rise in the pharmaceutical market from 20 billion dollars to $35 billion. One of the major reasons for this is the pandemic. 
• Medical Requirements at Single Platform: Consumers are examining online pharmacy as a single place accessing all their medical requirements from medicine purchases to lab tests and medical consulting. 
• Demand for Healthcare Services: Increase in lifestyle diseases like diabetes and cardiovascular disorders, especially among senior citizens. The expected increase in demand for healthcare services, particularly pharmaceuticals, is due to the growth within the senior population demographic. 
• Internet: The number of people who use the internet is growing all over the world. This means that PharmEasy has the opportunity to expand its online presence by interacting with its customers more through the Internet.

Threats to PharmEasy

• Increasing Competition Between Online & Retail: The industry’s competition has increased, putting downward pressure on prices. If PharmEasy does not adjust to the price changes, it may lose market share.
• Unstructured Grievance Handling System: Unpredictability of consumer purchasing behaviour. 
• Political Instability: Additional governmental regulations and tax policies. Political indecision in the country can be an obstacle to business, causing performance to suffer and additional costs to be incurred.

Now further let us see any campaign that failed or any strategy that faced viewers’ backlash:

Failed Campaign/Strategy

Indian e-pharmacy PharmEasy has found itself in the middle of a controversy after a Twitter user claimed that the company’s pharmacist recommended an herbal product along with their existing order. The incident raised concerns about the legality of such e-pharmacy recommendations and practices in India.

The controversy started when Abhijit Majumder, a professor at IIT Bombay, shared his experience with PharmEasy on Twitter. Majumder claimed that after ordering blood sugar medication, he received a call from a PharmEasy pharmacist who suggested herbal supplements to accompany his existing order.

In fact, the Union Health Ministry has recently raised concerns about privacy and malpractices associated with e-pharmacies, prompting them to consider imposing strict regulations and take decisive action against such platforms.

However, PharmEasy defended its actions in response to Majumder’s tweet, referring to the referral as an act of goodwill.

Although the tweet has since been deleted, it read: “As per PharmEasy policy, we are required to follow the order confirmation process. A team of pharmacists will always suggest a drug or product to customers depending on your medical history. Please note that this is done in good faith and you can always decline the proposal.”

 

Competitors to PharmEasy

The competition between online pharmaceutical apps is expanding as a result of the increased reliance on the online market. The following are some of PharmEasy’s rivals:

PRACTO: Practo provides online health management services. Practo primarily targets independent healthcare providers in Indian cities and offers medicine delivery and booking for doctor’s appointments.

1mg: an online pharmacy that functions as a marketplace for the delivery of pharmaceuticals as well as a source of information. 1mg primarily targets adults in big cities who are 25 or older and obtain most of their users via Healthcart.

NETMEDS: a pharmacy online that sells both prescription and over-the-counter medicines. They want to draw in clients who place repeat orders and who use supplements for long-term illnesses.

Apollo Pharmacy: A one-stop online shop, Apollopharmacy offers a huge selection of more than 70,000 products in numerous categories, including vitamins and supplements, among others.

This ends our comprehensive SWOT analysis of PharmEasy.

PharmEasy is a direct connection between clinics, pathologies, pharmacies, and the general public. If clinics want to improve their marketing strategies to avoid PharmEasy from taking a share of the market, here’s a video that can help you-