Small deal – at least for a commerce/eCommerce giant with the deepest of deep pockets. At least in terms of the price tag.
But it could be a big step, and specifically Amazon’s and Walmart’s bids, to forge the connected economy.
Bloomberg has reported that Metropolis Healthcare Ltd., a diagnostics chain with a presence in India and Africa, is looking to raise more than $300 million through the sale of a minority stake in its operations.
In doing so, the company would also cement a relationship with a strategic partner — and in this case, Amazon and Walmart (through Flipkart) are reportedly in the running.
We note that discussions aren’t decisions and anything can happen. A deal may materialize or not.
But the fact that Walmart and Amazon are kicking the proverbial tires gives a nod to how these firms are looking at healthcare’s role in boosting retail and commerce and broadening apps into super apps.
No doubt the two firms are also eyeing each other as they seek to determine what a stake in Metropolis might be worth.
Metropolis, for its part, runs 3,000 diagnostics centers and labs in India and Africa.
The Metropolis site shows a continuum of services across online and offline channels. Consumers can order tests and diagnostic services through the site and can go to the testing centers or technicians are available for home appointments. Prescriptions can be uploaded to the site to be filled.
The business model spotlights the blurring of the lines in healthcare and commerce, where apps, devices and electronic documents now are integrated into a menu of offerings that can be clicked through and ordered.
In India and Africa — and worldwide — technology is giving consumers some power in the day-to-day management of their own health. By extension, healthcare is no longer confined to a 9 to 5 schedule.
India represents but one beachhead in a retail battle. Elsewhere in the global jousting between Amazon and Walmart for consumers’ loyalty and wallet share, cementing ecosystems with super apps, healthcare is a key point of digital engagement.
As noted in this space earlier in the year, in the United States, the two companies (along with other firms such as CVS Health and Walgreens) are pushing primary care services to be available in-store, at home and pretty much on demand. Walmart’s installed base of stores (with nearly 5,000 in the U.S.) gives a natural setting for onsite testing (and it bought MeMD, a telehealth platform last year).
Read more: Amazon and Walmart Squaring off on Telehealth, Pharmacy, Connected Healthcare in 2022
Amazon, for its part, has rolled out its Amazon Care telehealth platform across scores of cities in the U.S. (and thus boosts the delivery of in-home care).
The general goal for these super apps would be to have a single point of digital contact through which to book appointments, and keep track of them while measuring key health-related data in real time. And, oh yes, pay for it all, of course, with seamless navigation.
PYMNTS research, done in collaboration with Stripe in “Benchmarking the World’s Digital Transformation,” shows the importance, and the greenfield opportunity for health care in the digital, connected economy. We found that, in 11 countries across the globe, in Europe Latin America and the U.S., healthcare has a place within daily, digital life, as measured by engagement.
We can see that “Be Well” activities — tracking health data and watching health-related content — have room to grow.
In fact, 50% of the connected economy’s activities are non-transactional in nature, which indicates a growing reliance on apps to get things done well beyond the realms of browsing for things to buy, and then paying for them.
Read more: Nearly 50% of Activities Comprising the CE Index Are Not Commerce Related
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