Trends to Watch out for in the Healthcare eCommerce Sector

The rise in the adoption of eCommerce has seen a variegated response across various industry verticals and enterprises. The Healthcare sector, however, has been a little delinquent in accepting the change. Due to the private nature of this particular industry, technological advancements have rather seen slower penetration here.

However, by the mid of the 21st century, things started to take a progressive route and as a result, a much more promising transformation started to crystallize. The healthcare business is now gradually shifting to online territory, with improved patient care and service offering. According to Goldman Sachs, the healthcare sector will be investing close to US $32 billion in the eCommerce and online services domain to improve the state of the medical industry. The investment number is 5 times more than what online retailers are spending currently across all forms of eCommerce and online services annually.

But why is the shift taking place now? By far the healthcare industry has been doing pretty well with its traditional way. But actually, healthcare has the greatest potential when it comes to exploring and implementing leading-edge technologies. eCommerce is one such domain which when combined with the existing system can bring about tremendous growth opportunities.

Where do we stand today?

Most definitely, eCommerce is changing the very nature of the healthcare domain. Experts from both areas are joining forces to create a workflow that is not just improving the convenience of patients but also bringing added benefits to the service providers and manufacturers. While we are talking about the consequences on a larger scale, healthcare providers are the ones who will be playing a much crucial role here.

“E-commerce in healthcare is definitely a positive force, as with any fresh technology, but one that needs to be harnessed with cautious and creative thinking.”

Trends that are shaping the medical eCommerce domain

Investment outflow

Like any other business model, investment is a key factor in the adoption of a greater technology or upgrade. As big as the potential healthcare domain holds, huge investments flowing in are no surprise to the industry leaders. Renowned venture capitalists and investors have placed big bets on the global healthcare e-commerce market to capitalize on the immense market opportunities.

This trend has particularly been instrumental in helping the vendors grow and make progress across the global healthcare e-commerce market.

In all likelihood, the coming decade will inspire better opportunities, both technically and commercially in the healthcare market. Presently, innovative pharma companies like CapsuleCares.com have already started the trend of same-day deliveries. Besides pharmaceutical startups, even the established manufacturers and distributors are gradually extending their operations via eCommerce stores to deliver their products, equipment, and medical supplies directly to the physicians or consumers.

Economies of scale - More products at lower prices

“Economies of scale” is a popular term in the financial world which essentially means with efficient production, a company can easily control/ lower the cost for the market. But how does that relate to the healthcare eCommerce?

By taking up the eCommerce route, equipment manufacturers and vendors can easily ensure continual sales flow. An eCommerce platform can open up global sales opportunities for you, allowing for improved sales prospects and supply. Your customers are no more limited to regional physicians and equipment suppliers. Moreover, this trend equally benefits the consumer as well. Since more and more vendors are getting onto eCommerce, end customers get a wider range of product offerings. This creates a competitive environment for the vendors which only results in more benefits for the customer. The power to purchase always rests in the hands of the customer. To attract more and more customers, healthcare vendors are using promotional offers and bulk order discounts to make sure customers get the best value.

Technology at its core

In terms of numbers, the size of healthcare eCommerce is nearly 5 times in comparison to the remaining B2C eCommerce market. This means eCommerce, customer service, secure database, mobile, and web strategy when all combined can create such a massive and diverse market. Without having a trusted technology partner by your side, managing all of it can be a real task. With Biz4Commerce you need not worry about the technological implementation. Our developers have sizeable experience in developing medical eCommerce solutions with top-notch security and performance deliverables.

Improved patient care

Medical facilities and suppliers have always been burdened by issues like understaffing and unavailability of stock during high-demand. While technological advancements like predictive analytics are helping resolve the unforeseen surge, there needs to be an immediate action plan to tackle the situation. With eCommerce complementing the healthcare sector, the excessive pressure on critical healthcare services and supplies is gradually alleviating. Patients who need critical attention can now be taken care of promptly while non-critical patients can be assisted via telemedicine portals or virtual healthcare platforms.

Improved privacy and data protection

Undeniably, patient data is highly crucial and must be kept secure to avert any misuse. Privacy of data has really been a point of concern for healthcare professionals as eCommerce functions in the public domain and even the slightest chance of data breach can initiate large scale implications. However, with the collaboration of healthcare professionals and eCommerce vendors, things have turned much more secure and safe for sensitive patient data and transactions. Although many more efforts are needed in this direction, steady improvement is what will help resolve the issue in long term.

Accessibility

Ease of access has always been the center of attraction for the eCommerce domain. In the healthcare sector, this attribute has proved to be quite helpful as patients can now browse through an always-available-to-serve pharma store at any time of the day. Because now the power rests in the hands of the customer, vendors are working on improving their customer experience via services like same-day delivery and direct-to-door supplies. Few of the vendors and healthcare professionals are also offering chat services and real-time patient support to ensure only the best medical care for their patients.

Conclusion

Most certainly, eCommerce is going to be the next big thing in the healthcare domain. In order to keep up with the changing trends, healthcare professionals and service providers are eagerly looking for trusted partners who can collaborate with them with their eCommerce journey. Biz4Commerce is an advanced MERN based eCommerce platform that helps you build winning eCommerce marketplaces for your medical business. We make sure the solution we provide is not just secure, but compliant, scalable, and flexible as well. Talk to our experts today