DM, Rossmann, Lidl to start selling medicines online

DM, Rossmann and Lidl have announced plans to sell non-prescription medication via their online stores. The move might be a nail in the coffin for pharmacies in Germany.

German chemists and supermarkets to sell medication

Unlike in other countries, chemists and supermarkets in Germany do not sell non-prescription medication, such as paracetamol or ibuprofen, which are sold exclusively in pharmacies. But an announcement from leading German chemists and supermarkets means this may soon change.

Chemist shops DM and Rossmann, alongside Lidl supermarkets, have announced that they plan to sell non-prescription medication on their websites. According to a report by Handelsblatt, DM is awaiting final approval from authorities but will make the change “in the coming weeks”.

Only licensed pharmacies are permitted to sell medication in Germany. To get around this rule, DM plans to send its medication from offices in Czechia to customers in Germany, and Rossmann plans to send stock from the Netherlands.

Pharmacies name DM and co. as “final enemy”

According to Steuerberater für Apotheke, every fourth medication purchase in Germany is already made online. These sales are currently made by smaller, less well-known and international companies.

Nevertheless, in the past years, local pharmacies have been feeling the effects. The Federal Union of German Associations of Pharmacists (ABDA) 2025 report found that the number of pharmacies continues to decrease. 

“At the end of 2024 there were 17.041 pharmacies in Germany, which is the lowest number since the end of the 1970s,” an ABDA press release explains. This decrease is largely down to pharmacies' financial difficulties.

DM, Rossmann, Lidl, and potentially further major retailers, stepping into the million-euro market of selling non-prescription medication is expected to further destabilise Germany’s already struggling Apotheken.