PhonePe’s Pincode Pilots 10-Minute Medicine Delivery

Expanding its quick commerce play, PhonePe’s ecommerce platform Pincode has rolled out a 10-minute medicine delivery service in three cities.

The service, which is currently available in Bengaluru, Pune and Mumbai, facilitates users with a 24-hour online medicine delivery from nearby medical stores in just 10 minutes. Unlike others, Pincode does not have a dark store model. 

Besides, it also claims to offer direct discounts from local pharmacies to the customers with no delivery charge. 

With the newly launched service, users can order prescription-based as well as over-the-counter (OTC) medicines, PhonePe said in a statement.

Additionally, customers with no prescription can add medicines to their cart and select the “no prescription” option. With this, a qualified doctor will reach out to the customer to offer free consultation and issue a digital prescription, the statement added.

“Through our continuous availability and free doctor on call, we are improving access to fundamental healthcare services while reinforcing the position of neighborhood medical shops in the digital economy. This approach stimulates local economic growth and ensures trusted medical shops remain integral to their communities,” said Pincode chief executive officer Vivek Lohcheb.

In November 2024, Pincode piloted its quick commerce service in parts of Bengaluru, Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad and Varanasi, claiming to deliver  groceries and other products in 10-20 minutes. 

In 2023, PhonePe launched Pincode to sell groceries, apparel, food and technology products on the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) platform. Last year, the platform started developing its own marketplace and exited these categories from the ONDC network. 

With this, Pincode is shifting its focus from being a buyer-side app to now a seller-side experience.

The Quick Pill Bet

After creating and fulfilling customers’ need for 10-15 minute grocery and food delivery, the Indian quick commerce ecosystem is shifting to other essential services including healthcare.

While quick commerce giants like Zepto, Swiggy’s Instamart and Blinkit already offer OTC medicines, several startups are emerging to facilitate customers with quick delivery of prescription-based medicines.

In the recent past, Swiggy rolled out an epharmacy on Instamart through a partnership with Pharmeasy while ecommerce giant Flipkart is also mulling to enter the space. Other platforms including Tata 1mg and Apollo 24/7 are also in various stages of piloting instant medicine delivery.

Last month, healthtech startup Zeno Health rolled out a 50-minute medicine delivery service in Mumbai at the back of raising $25 Mn in its Series C funding round.