For some pharmacy locations, the growth of same-day delivery and online prescription options has slowly chipped away at their customer base.
Only a few years ago, if a person got sick, they went to the doctor, then followed that up with a trip to their local CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid, or local pharmacy. While picking up their medicine, they might buy Kleenex, beverages, magazines, or comforting snacks.
Recently, when I wasn’t feeling well, I used an online doctor for a prescription and had it delivered the same day, while also ordering the other items I would have picked up at my local pharmacy through Amazon. It highlighted just how much customer behavior has shifted.
“We have been watching this car crash in slow motion for years,” George Hill, managing director and senior equity research analyst at Deutsche Bank, told Fox Business.
Now, after having been purchased by private equity firm Sycamore Partners, Walgreens will move forward with plans to close dozens of locations, but the news actually has improved for customers of the chain.
Walgreens closing dozens of locations
Walgreens’ new owner has actually scaled back its store closure plans. In 2024, the chain said it planned to shut down 1,200 locations by 2027. By the end of 2025, roughly 500 Walgreens locations had closed, according to TheStreet.
At the time, CEO Tim Wentworth explained the shutdowns.
“We intend to invest in these stores over the next several years. Part of the funding for this investment will come from accelerating the closure of underperforming stores. Executing on this program will realign our footprint to a healthier store base that we believe will enable us to respond more dynamically to shifts in consumer behavior and buying preferences,” he said during the chain’s fourth quarter 2024 earnings call.
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Under the original projections, Walgreens planned to close about 700 locations in 2026. Its new owner has scaled back those plans.
Walgreens now expects to close “under 100 stores in 2026,” according to Bloomberg.
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Major pharmacies have been closing locations
- Rite Aid closed all remaining stores as part of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy wind‑down, ending a decades‑long retail presence nationwide, according to TheStreet.
- Rite Aid has transferred prescription files from dozens of closing pharmacy locations, with competitors like CVS, Walgreens, Albertsons, Kroger, and Giant Eagle acquiring assets, reported RetailWire.
- Walgreens previously announced plans to close about 1,200 underperforming stores over a three‑year period as part of a broader turnaround strategy amid financial challenges, added RetailWire.
- CVS announced it would close around 270 stores nationwide in 2025 as part of a broader effort to streamline and simplify operations, following earlier closures of roughly 900 locations between 2022–2024, according to Jena Warburton of TheStreet.
- Industry statistics show coverage declines as large pharmacy closures ripple through the market, and closures have contributed to fewer overall pharmacy locations in some states, reported the state of Ohio.
Closing stores helped Walgreens
“We’ve begun our footprint optimization program and are pleased with the early results. We’re currently exceeding historical script retention rates and have retained the majority of store and pharmacy team members,” Wentworth said during the chain’s first quarter 2025 earnings call.
He noted that store closures alone won’t save the chain.
“To be clear, even within our future footprint, we have to execute on our longer-term merchandising and consumer engagement initiatives in order to grow. However, this data supports our view that the smaller footprint will be a healthier one for our company,” he added.
Fewer closures from Walgreens are good news for communities that may have lost their local pharmacy.
“When those community pharmacies close,” Lucas Berenbrok, an associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy who has been mapping closures, told Spectrum Local News, “communities lose critical access.”
Related: A 63-year-old retailer just closed 80 stores
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