Thanks for Visiting!

Register for free to get the full story.

Sign Up
Already have a Placer.ai account? Log In

Pharmacy’s Healthcare Pivot

by 
Bracha Arnold
 on 
June 28, 2022
Pharmacy’s Healthcare Pivot

As online and brick-and-mortar giants like Amazon, Walmart, and Target continue to expand their health and wellness offerings, the traditional pharmacy sector has had to adapt. We took a look at three of the biggest players in the market – CVS, Walgreens, and Rite Aid – to see how they are reinventing themselves in an increasingly competitive space. 

CVS and Walgreens Adapting to New Challenges

Foot traffic to CVS and Walgreens increased dramatically over the pandemic as the brands became a prime destination for vaccines and COVID tests. However, as most who choose to vaccinate have already done so, and as inflation continues, foot traffic has been tapering off. Shoppers have been both consolidating their errands and “trading down,” a trend that could be  impacting visits. 

Pharmacy leaders have been adapting to the changes in the traditional pharmacy space – expanding their omnichannel options, strengthening loyalty programs, and perhaps most crucially, establishing themselves as healthcare providers as well. 

CVS Goes Digital

When the pandemic forced a lot of medicine to go online, CVS was already ahead of the curve. In 2018, the company bought insurer Aetna and has been establishing its MinuteClinics ever since. More recently, in May 2022, the company launched an online primary-care program called CVS Health Virtual Primary Care. According to the company’s website, “CVS Health Virtual Primary Care will give members access to primary care, on-demand care, chronic condition management, and mental health services virtually, with the option of being seen in-person when needed at an in-network provider, including MinuteClinic.” As CVS invests in its digital channels, the company has been optimizing its store fleets, with plans to close roughly 900 of its 10,000 stores by 2023. 

Digging deeper into the numbers, visits were up compared to three years ago, which means that, despite the store closures already under way, customers are still visiting CVS in higher volumes than before the pandemic. Foot traffic has been trending downward as compared to one year ago, but with visits up year-over-three-year (Yo3Y), the year-over-year (YoY) drop is likely due to patterns normalizing following a COVID-induced surge in visits to pharmacies. 

Walgreens Focusing on Optimization 

Walgreens, too, has been expanding out its healthcare services since before the pandemic, but the past two years have accelerated the pace. In October 2021, the company announced a “$5.2 billion investment [to] accelerate the opening of at least 600 Village Medical at Walgreens primary care practices in more than 30 U.S. markets by 2025 and 1,000 by 2027.” Walgreens also built the Walgreens Find Care, an online platform that connects patients with digital health service providers. 

Like CVS, Walgreens is seeing Yo3Y strength while YoY visits are down slightly – May 2022 visits were up 7.9% relative to 2019 but down 5.6% relative to 2021. This means that, like CVS, Walgreens is in a stronger position than it was pre-pandemic, even as COVID wanes.   

Rite Aid Rightsizing Effectively

Rite Aid began an aggressive consolidation of its store fleet in 2017, when competitor Walgreens purchased almost 2,000 Rite Aid stores. It spent the last few years focusing on its best-performing stores and expanding its other healthcare offerings. Looking at the foot traffic, visits per venue are relatively strong, and despite the fact that Yo3Y foot traffic is down, visits per venue are significantly elevated. These elevated visits may show that the plan to focus on higher-performing stores is working, as visits per venue is one of the more important and telling metrics used to gauge .

April 2022 saw 12.6% more visits per venue than the chain had seen three years prior, and although foot traffic was down by 26.5%, this is likely a result of the store closures that the company has been implementing rather than a depression in visitors. 

Year over year visits were strong in the new year, and while the brand experienced a downturn in foot traffic from March 2022 onwards, it’s been narrowing its visit gap each month since. As the company continues to make inroads into healthcare, plan to see foot traffic patterns continue to trend upwards. 

All three brands are adapting with the challenges that they face as customer needs evolve and are investing in new ways to provide innovative services to their communities. 

Visit placer.ai for more data-driven insights. 

Get 3 brand & industry
breakdowns every week

Subscribe to the newsletter

Great! Prepare your inbox for data-driven insights...
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

Get a Demo

Please enter your first name
Please enter your last name
Please provide a valid email
Please enter your email
Please enter company name

Thanks for reaching out!

One of our experts will be in touch soon

Try Placer.ai Free
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
Text Link
Pharmacies
Text Link
Walgreens
Small Coffee Chains Brewing Big Success
Placer.ai White Paper Recap – November 2023
Thanksgiving Travel 2023 Recap
Checking in With Nike and Lululemon
Black Friday 2023 Retail Recap
Starbucks’ 2023 Holiday Menu & Red Cup Day Performance
Turkey Wednesday 2023
Who Attended the 2023 Pickleball Championship? 
Three Surprising Holiday Shopping Trends
What’s in Store for Ulta Beauty This Holiday Season?
Best Buy and Department Stores: A Holiday Deep Dive
Discount & Dollar Stores: Strength Toward The End of the Year
The State of Off-Price Retail: Discounts Seal The Deal
Placer Mall Index Recap: October 2023
Placer.ai Office Index: October 2023 Recap
Retail Corridors Ahead of the 2023 Holiday Season
California, Here Gap Comes
Checking in With Home Improvement
Getting Into the Glasses Game: Warby Parker Takes Over
Fitness Positioned for a Strong 2023 Finish
White Paper Recap: October 2023
Coffee Giants Brewing Up Business
Popeyes and Burger King Lead the Way
Diving into Yum!
Looking Ahead to Black Friday 2023
Blockbusters Drive Movie Theater Comeback
Crocs and Boot Barn: Shoe-Ins for Success
McDonald’s and Chipotle's Winning Recipe
The State Of Steak: Checking in With Texas Roadhouse
Pleasant Pastimes: Pickleball Potential Proves Potent
Who’s Driving Downtown Manhattan’s Weekend Revival?
Diving into Downtown Manhattan Foot Traffic Trends
Rite Aid: Rightsizing Right
Major League Soccer: Its Die-Hard and Casual Fans
The Anchor Recap: September 2023
Placer.ai Office Index: September 2023 Recap
Placer Mall Index Recap: September 2023
September White Paper Recap
The Consumer Habits of College Students
JCPenney: Rightsizing and Revitalizing
Pent-Up Demand Ahead of October Sales Events
4 Strategies Retailers are Using to Drive Traffic to Their Venues
5 Key Regional Grocery Players Impressing in 2023
Upscale Kitchenware Trending Up
Costco Finds More Room for Growth
Four C-Store Chains Making an A-Grade
National Parks + Outdoor Summer Activities
Diving Into Darden: Summer 2023 Update
The Summer Event Effect
Messi: Massive in Miami
Looking Back on Back to School 2023
The Anchor Recap: August 2023
Placer.ai Office Index: August 2023 Recap
Placer.ai Mall Index: August 2023 Recap
Placer.ai White Paper Recap: August 2023
Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte Strikes Again
Big Scoop: We All Scream For Ice Cream
Sports Away: Lululemon & Nike’s Momentum Continues
Summer Visits Heat Up For Recreation and Outdoor Gear Chains
No CSS overwrite - July 2023 Office Index Recap
Staging - August 2023 Mall Indec
Mid-Atlantic Grocery Deep Dive
Experiential Chains Heating Up This Summer
Petco Goes Big by Going Small
Ulta Beauty: Leading the Discretionary Pack
Discount and Dollar Chains Continue to Thrive
Summer of Sports: DICK’s Sporting Goods and Hibbett Sports
Off-Price: Succeeding Into Summer
The Anchor Recap: July 2023
Superstores Maintaining Pandemic Gains Amidst Economic Headwinds
2023: Home Improvement at the Halfway Point
July 2023 Office Index Recap
Placer.ai Mall Index: July 2023 Recap
The Taylor Swift Visit Lift
Southwestern Grocery Dive
July 2023 White Paper Recap: Halfway Point Review & Quarterly Index
Yum! Brands: Driving Dining Visits
Slurpees and Summer Movies Stimulate Consumer Foot Traffic
Cool Beans: Summer Coffee Update
Checking In on Back to School 2023
Crocs and New Balance Tip The Scales
Burger Bliss: Shake Shack and In-N-Out Stacking Visits
Chipotle & McDonald's Continue to Reign Supreme
Vibenomics and Placer.ai Partner to Enhance Retail Media In-Store Measurement
California Grocers Here We Come!
Marriott’s Different Audiences
Bonchon and Kura Sushi Thrive in the Fast-Casual Scene
A Shoe In: Footwear Climbs to the Top
Cheers! Raising a Glass to Beverage Retail
Placer.ai Office Index: June 2023 Recap
Placer.ai Mall Index June 2023 Recap – A Turn of the Tide and a Dive into Open-Air Lifestyle Centers
Local Kitchens: Redefining the Restaurant
Unlocking Urban Insights: The Value in Manhattan’s Employees
Ohio State Parks On The Rise
How is Inflation Impacting the High-Income Shoppers?
Five Fast-Growing Dining Chains
What To Expect From Prime Day and July Sales Events in 2023
The State Of Fashion: How Are Apparel Retailers Faring in 2023?
2023’s Latest Dining Success Story: GEN Korean BBQ House
The NBA Finals: A Location Intelligence Perspective