SberMarket Launched Express Delivery of Non-prescription Drugs

SberMarket, a food and commodities delivery service, will supply over-the-counter medications, medical equipment, and items, according to the company’s press department.

Customers may make an order at any of the Erkafarm group of businesses’ pharmacies, including Samson Pharma, Doctor Stoletov, Ozerki, Superatepteka, and others. Sbermarket currently offers over 8000 items in this category in total. The minimum order quantity is 300 rubles, and delivery time is expected to be 20 minutes, Vedomosti writes.

The Vse Pharmacy service, which is part of the VK ecosystem, is the project’s technical partner. The service is now accessible to customers in Moscow and St. Petersburg, but it will soon be available in additional cities with populations of more than one million.

Sbermarket debuted in November of 2019. It is now available in 150 Russian cities and enables you to order products from 77 retail brands, including Metro, Auchan, Lenta, Magnit, Podruzhka, and Fix Price.

Sbermarket’s intentions to deliver medications to customers’ homes were made public in early April of last year. The service then sent a poll to its clients in order to determine if they would buy medical supplies there, how they would want to receive an order – along with goods or separately, and how much they typically spend on such medicines.

In October 2020, Sberbank will join the medication retail sector. The financial institution and the R-Pharm Group of Companies then announced the acquisition of a 90% interest in Eapteka.ru, one of Russia’s biggest online pharmacies. The parties got 45 percent of the service, with the remaining 10 percent going to the company’s founder and CEO, Anton Buzdalin. The service is now known as Sber Eapteka.

On April 3, 2020, Russian President Vladimir Putin approved legislation prohibiting the selling of drugs over the internet. During an emergency or epidemic, the document also allows the sale of prescription medicines, with the exception of narcotic, psychotropic, and strong drugs. The step was deemed essential in the light of the coronavirus epidemic and self-isolation.