Listing Your Pharmacy on 1mg, PharmEasy & NetMeds: A Practical Setup Guide
For Indian retail pharmacies, the question of whether to list your pharmacy on 1mg, PharmEasy or NetMeds has shifted from "should I?" to "on what terms?" Online medicine demand has stabilised at 15–20% of urban pharmaceutical retail and continues to grow in tier-2 cities. The economics are no longer purely additive — they reshape your inventory mix, your margins and your direct-customer relationships. This is the practical onboarding and decision guide.
The three major platforms — Tata 1mg, PharmEasy (which owned NetMeds at the time of consolidation), and a handful of regional players (Apollo Pharmacy's digital arm, Wellness Forever) — all operate variations of two underlying models: marketplace listing (the pharmacy fulfils the order from its own stock) and fulfilment-by-platform (orders ship from platform warehouses, the pharmacy is a brand-name partner only). The setup, economics and trade-offs differ markedly between the two.
The two operating models
Marketplace model: customer orders on the platform, the order routes to your pharmacy based on geography, you pack and dispatch — sometimes through a platform-arranged delivery partner, sometimes via your own delivery. You retain inventory ownership and a larger share of the margin.
Fulfilment-by-platform model: the platform handles inventory, dispatch and customer service. You operate as a supplier or are simply referenced by the marketing — depending on the platform's structure in your city.
The marketplace model is what most independent pharmacies join. Fulfilment-by-platform tends to involve larger chains or pharmacies in cities where the platform has warehouse infrastructure.
What you need to onboard
The documentation required is broadly consistent across platforms:
Valid retail drug licence (Form 20 and 21, current renewal — see our drug licence renewal guide)
GST registration certificate
Shop establishment licence
PAN, Aadhaar (proprietor) or company incorporation documents
Cancelled cheque or bank account verification
Photograph of premises and counter
Pharmacist registration certificate
The platform's onboarding team typically completes a verification call and may visit the premises in larger cities. Allow 2–4 weeks from document submission to first live order.
Commission economics: read the fine print
Each platform takes a commission per order — typically expressed as a percentage of net sale value plus a fixed per-order fee. The commission varies by drug category, delivery model, and pharmacy tier within the platform's classification. As a rough 2026 benchmark for the marketplace model:
OTC and consumer health: 8–15% commission
Prescription medicines: 10–18% commission
Wellness, nutrition and devices: 12–20% commission
Add platform-driven discounts (often funded partly by you), payment-gateway fees, return reversals and delivery commissions, and the effective realised price can drop 20–30% below your in-store price. This is the gap most pharmacies underestimate when they first list.
The honest read: e-pharmacy listings are not a margin-up move — they're a volume and customer-reach move. Treat them as such in the financial model.
What sells well on platforms vs in-store
The platform mix tilts toward:
Chronic-disease repeat orders (diabetes, hypertension, thyroid) — high lifetime value
Wellness and nutrition (vitamins, supplements, protein) — high margins for the platform, decent for the pharmacy
Consumer-health and OTC at discount — high volume, thin margin
Devices and diagnostics (BP monitors, glucometers, thermometers) — lower frequency, higher ticket
What rarely moves through platforms in volume:
Acute prescriptions (the customer is usually nearby and needs it fast)
Compounded preparations and specialty formulations
Bulk hygiene SKUs for institutional buyers (those buyers prefer direct invoicing)
The implication: don't list your full catalogue. List the categories where customers actually buy online. Manage your inventory to that subset.
The fulfilment workflow
A typical marketplace order flow:
Order arrives on your platform-provided device or app
Prescription (if Schedule H or H1) is auto-attached by the platform — verify it before picking
Pack the order, generate the platform invoice
Hand off to delivery partner or dispatch via your delivery
Mark dispatched in the platform app
Customer receives and platform marks delivered
Settlement to your bank account on the platform's settlement cycle (typically T+7 to T+14 days)
Disputes (returns, missing items, late delivery) reduce settlement amounts and require the staff time to contest. Build this into the unit economics.
Schedule H, H1 and X compliance online
Online sale of Schedule H and H1 drugs requires a valid prescription scan attached to the order. The platform handles the upload — but the dispensing pharmacy bears responsibility for verifying the prescription is legitimate. Do not dispense if the prescription is illegible, missing the prescriber's registration number, or for a drug not indicated for the patient detail provided. The audit risk sits with you, not the platform.
For more on counter compliance see Schedule H/H1/X explained.
The customer-relationship trade-off
The most overlooked cost of platform listing is loss of direct customer relationship. The buyer's loyalty becomes to the platform, not to your pharmacy. Repeat orders flow through the app — they don't walk past your counter. For a pharmacy whose long-term moat is repeat business, this is a strategic question, not just an operational one.
Mitigations some pharmacies use:
Stock a few high-engagement items only on the platform; keep the rest in-store
Insert a small thank-you note in platform deliveries with a discount on direct purchase
Build a WhatsApp-based delivery channel of your own for nearby customers — sometimes more profitable than the platform
When platform listing makes the most sense
Listing is straightforwardly accretive when:
You have spare counter capacity (under-utilised pharmacist time)
You are in a tier-2 or tier-3 city with low e-pharmacy density (you'll be the default match for orders)
You are willing to manage to a lower-margin, higher-volume model
You have or can build delivery capacity
It is questionable when:
You are at counter capacity and platform orders displace in-store buyers
Your margin structure cannot absorb commission and platform discounts
Your in-store customer relationships are your primary asset
Products that move alongside this channel
Pharmacies expanding their platform presence often pair the listing with a refresh of their hygiene and consumables shelf. Common platform-friendly SKUs include WHO-formulation hand sanitiser, 3% hydrogen peroxide, and 70% IPA — see our pharmacy hygiene stock guide. Pioma Chemtech, a specialty chemical manufacturer based in India, supplies these in retail and institutional pack sizes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is platform listing worth it for a single-counter pharmacy in a metro city?
Often marginal. In high-density metro areas multiple pharmacies compete for each order and the commission load is heaviest. Listing can still make sense for the chronic-disease repeat-order subset, but few independent metro pharmacies grow significantly through platforms alone.
Can I list on multiple platforms simultaneously?
Yes — most independent pharmacies that list at all list on at least two. Inventory sync and order management become the operational challenge. Some platforms tolerate dual listing better than others; check the partner agreement.
Do I need a separate licence to sell online?
No separate licence is required at the time of writing — you operate under your existing retail drug licence. However, regulatory clarity around online pharmacies in India has been evolving. Verify the current position with your state Drugs Control Department before relying on this.
What happens if a customer returns medication?
Returns of medication are restricted by law (you cannot resell a returned tablet strip). The platform either issues a refund and absorbs the loss, or charges back to you, depending on the contract clause. Read the return-policy section of the partner agreement carefully — this is a significant difference between platforms.
Will I lose my regular customers if I sign up?
Some, especially price-sensitive ones, will shift to the platform after seeing your products listed there. Others will continue to walk in. The strategic move is to differentiate your in-store experience (counselling, immediate availability, longer hours) so the price comparison isn't the whole story.
What's the typical onboarding time?
2–4 weeks from document submission to first order — sometimes longer if a premises verification visit is required. Onboarding is faster in cities where the platform has on-the-ground operations teams.
Are e-pharmacy commissions negotiable?
Rarely for independent pharmacies; routinely for multi-store chains or pharmacies with strong category strength (e.g. specialty oncology). For most independent stores, the standard rate card applies.
Platform listing is an operating-model choice, not a marketing add-on. Decide consciously, model the unit economics honestly, and revisit after the first six months of live operation.
— Available for bulk and commercial supply. Contact us to discuss pack sizes that fit both retail and platform-shipped channels.
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