Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. plummeted more than 5% on Tuesday after Amazon.com Inc. announced plans to significantly expand its same-day prescription delivery service, posing a major competitive threat to the retail pharmacy giant.
Amazon revealed that it will offer free same-day delivery of prescriptions in 20 new markets next year, more than doubling its current footprint. By the end of 2025, the tech behemoth says 45% of the U.S. population will have access to its same-day Rx delivery service.
The move could deal a severe blow to Walgreens and rival CVS Health Corp., which have long relied on customers visiting their thousands of retail pharmacy locations to pick up prescriptions and make additional purchases. With Amazon's added convenience of rapid home delivery, the brick-and-mortar pharmacies risk losing a key driver of store traffic and sales.