Lawson is the first major convenience store chain to deliver over-the-counter medicines to homes, etc., as the tendency to refrain from going out is spreading due to the influence of the new coronavirus, and from the 4th, Lawson started a service at some stores in Tokyo.

Lawson is engaged in a service that delivers food and daily necessities to homes, etc. using the home delivery service "Uber Eats," but has also begun delivering pharmaceutical products at three new stores in Tokyo.

We handle 49 types of over-the-counter medicines such as cold medicines and headache medicines that do not require a prescription, and users order after checking the precautions on the smartphone app.

At the store, a qualified clerk who sells the drug will check the order and make sure there are no mistakes, sign a special document, and then the drug will be handed over to the Uber Eats delivery clerk.



You can pay by using the credit card or electronic money registered in the app, or you can give it to the delivery person in cash.

Home delivery of such medicines is possible with the permission of the local government at stores that meet certain conditions, such as having a sales clerk.



Lawson is currently providing home delivery services such as food products using Uber sweets at more than 1,500 stores nationwide, and plans to increase the number of stores that can deliver over-the-counter drugs in the future.

Mr. Yasuji Yoshida, General Manager of Lawson's New Service Promotion Department, said, "While the infection with the new coronavirus is spreading, it is difficult for people who are in poor physical condition to go out, and there is a high need for home delivery of medicines. I want to connect it to store development. "

Online drug sales Corona is expected to expand the market

The sales method of receiving orders on the Internet and delivering over-the-counter drugs to home has been officially approved in Japan since 2014, seven years ago due to revisions to the Pharmaceutical Affairs Law.



By law, sales should be limited to the hours when a pharmacist or a qualified sales clerk is working, and the age and gender of the customer, whether or not the drug has caused allergic symptoms, etc. are confirmed before selling. It is obligatory.

In addition to major online shopping companies such as Rakuten, major retailers such as AEON Retail and Ito-Yokado are also entering the home delivery of over-the-counter drugs via the Internet.



According to "Intage Healthcare," a pharmaceutical market research company, sales of over-the-counter drugs via the Internet, including home delivery,


increased from 40.1 billion yen in 2017 to


45.3 billion yen in 2018 and


52.3 billion

yen in

2019. Yen,


▽ Last year, it was 58 billion yen, which


is increasing

year by year, and the

market is expected to continue expanding as the tendency to refrain from going out due to the new coronavirus is increasing.