NATIONWIDE – CVS is set to close approximately 270 more retail locations in 2025, continuing a multi-year “enterprise-wide restructuring plan” aimed at optimizing its store footprint and adapting to evolving consumer needs. The closures follow the shutdown of around 900 stores between 2022 and 2024, signaling a significant shift in the pharmacy giant’s retail strategy.

Key Facts:

• Continued Closures: CVS plans to close approximately 270 stores in 2025, adding to the roughly 900 locations already shuttered between 2022 and 2024.
• Strategic Realignment: The closures are part of a long-term restructuring plan initiated in November 2021, driven by factors such as population shifts, changing consumer buying patterns, and a desire to optimize store and pharmacy density.
• Balancing Act: While reducing its overall store count, CVS also intends to open new pharmacy locations, including about 30 in 2025, some within Target stores, asserting that 85% of Americans will still live within 10 miles of a CVS Pharmacy.

This ongoing strategy reflects CVS’s efforts to streamline operations and ensure its pharmacies are strategically located to best serve community health needs. But what factors truly dictate which stores remain, and which ones close their doors for good?

Why the Closures? Adapting to a Changing Landscape

CVS has stated that the decision to close stores is not a reaction to immediate industry pressures, but rather a proactive measure to refine its retail presence. The company’s annual report, filed in February 2025, detailed that these closures are based on a range of criteria. This includes an analysis of local population shifts, evolving consumer buying habits, the density of existing CVS stores and pharmacies in a given area, access to pharmacy care, and broader community health requirements.

The pharmacy retail sector has seen intense competition and shifting preferences, with increased digital engagement and alternative healthcare delivery models gaining traction. CVS’s strategy aims to address these changes by focusing on efficiency and the integration of its services.

New Openings Amidst Consolidations

Despite the extensive closure program, CVS is simultaneously investing in new locations. The company plans to open approximately 30 new pharmacies in 2025, with some of these new units slated for placement inside Target stores. This move suggests a dual approach: consolidating less efficient stand-alone locations while expanding reach through partnerships and potentially smaller, more focused formats.

The company emphasizes that even after the planned closures through 2025, a significant majority of the U.S. population—around 85%—will still have access to a CVS Pharmacy within a 10-mile radius. This commitment suggests a strategic effort to maintain a strong presence in the communities it serves, even as its physical footprint evolves.

What Does This Mean for Consumers?

For many consumers, the immediate impact of a CVS closure will be the need to find an alternative pharmacy. However, CVS’s stated intent is to ensure continued access to pharmacy care through nearby locations or new openings. The restructuring also aims to improve service delivery at the remaining stores, potentially leading to better customer experiences in optimized locations.

The broader trend within the retail pharmacy industry, including similar moves by competitors like Walgreens and Rite Aid, indicates a shift towards a more integrated and digitally connected healthcare model. This could mean increased reliance on online prescription management, delivery services, and diversified in-store health services like MinuteClinics and HealthHUBs, which CVS continues to develop.