As the stock market suffered its biggest loss since before the November election, shares of CVS and Walgreens closed down more than 3 percent, to $76.34 and $81.73, respectively.
CNBC reported that the online retail giant is considering wading into the complicated retail pharmacy market. The news organization reported that Amazon is hiring a general manager to lead a team to explore the idea but hasn't made a final decision.
An Amazon spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment. (Amazon chief executive Jeffrey P. Bezos owns The Washington Post.)
Selling prescription drugs is a big business in the United States - retail pharmacy is a $400bn industry according to an analysis by Adam Fein, president of Pembroke Consulting. The top 15 pharmacies — including CVS, Walgreens, Express Scripts and Wal-Mart — accounted for about three-fourths of all prescriptions by revenue in 2016, Fein said.
