(Reuters) – Warehouse chain Sam’s Club, a unit of Walmart Inc, said on Friday it will provide prescribed medicines to patients through delivery firm DoorDash Inc, as customers turn to digital orders during the COVID-19 pandemic.
DoorDash will deliver items from more than 500 Sam’s Club pharmacies and patients can call the pharmacies to schedule a same-day delivery, the warehouse club operator said.
Demand for online delivery, ranging from meal kits to sporting goods, has soared during the outbreak, as stay-at-home consumers increasingly prefer having items delivered at their doorsteps due to fears of contracting the virus.
Patients can buy prescribed medications from Sam’s Club without a membership, according to the club operator’s website.
“Businesses have evolved amid the pandemic to prioritize the safety of their communities and to adapt to new consumer habits,” DoorDash Chief Operating Officer Christopher Payne said.
San Francisco, California-based DoorDash, popular for its food delivery service, has also been branching out to tap a surge in online shopping during the health crisis. The company has recently partnered with department-store operator Macy’s Inc, pet products retailer PetSmart Inc and grocer Meijer Inc, among other big names.
Overall online sales at Sam’s Club jumped 39% in the second quarter ended July 31, compared with Walmart’s whopping 97% surge in the United States.
(Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam in Bengaluru, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
