NACS Daily has been keeping an eye on the changing drug store retail landscape over the last several quarters.

CVS has been focused on optimizing the pharmacy and healthcare side of its business—in  addition to closing hundreds of stores, CVS plans to open several smaller-format, pharmacy-first locations, with limited over-the-counter offerings.

Looking at CVS’ recent reports, it saw steady year-over-year (YoY) visit and visit-per-location growth in the first half of 2025, signaling the chain’s rightsizing strategy has been successful, according to research firm Placer.ai. Meanwhile in Q2 2025, visits to the chain were up 2.2% YoY, while average visits per location rose 5.0%. 

In the first quarter of the year, CVS Health’s Pharmacy and Consumer Wellness segment reported an 11.1% jump in revenue.

“Although CVS has centered much of its restructuring on pharmacy and healthcare services, foot traffic data also indicates a clear opportunity to leverage holiday retail milestones to boost non-pharmacy sales,” wrote Placer.ai.

In the first half of 2025, research showed Valentine’s Day was CVS's busiest day of the year to date, registering a 39.2% surge in visits compared to the chain’s year-to-date (YTD) daily average and a 26.3% boost compared to an average Friday. Other holidays, including Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, sparked smaller but still significant upticks. 

Meanwhile, competitor Walgreens is set to close around 1,200 stores over the next three years.