CVS Health is preparing to open a dozen stores offering full-service pharmacies but very limited retail, the latest example of a national drugstore chain responding to declining retail sales, reported the Wall Street Journal. “The new stores will be on average less than 5,000 square feet, or not even half the size of a typical CVS location, the company said. The 12 new stores are expected to open over the next year in cities and towns throughout the U.S.”

According to the WSJ, these shrunken CVS stores will still stock health-related products such as over-the-counter cough and pain medications or first-aid care, but will not offer greeting cards or groceries.

“CVS is undergoing a significant downsizing of its footprint. The chain, which announced plans in 2021 to reduce its store density, plans to close 270 locations in 2025 after 800 net closures over the prior three years,” wrote WSJ.

In an attempt to combat theft, CVS is trialing a new app feature that will allow customers to open the cabinets themselves, the company said in January.

Meanwhile, Walgreens Boots Alliance said last week that it had agreed to be acquired by Sycamore Partners, a private equity firm, in a $10 billion deal, reported the New York Times. “Walgreens, which owns the Duane Reade chain in the New York City area and the Boots pharmacies in Britain, has been closing stores, with hundreds more set to be shuttered in the years ahead,” the NYT reported.

The NYT wrote that the buyout follows a roughly 50% drop in the company’s share price in the past year. Its market value, which peaked at over $100 billion a decade ago, dropped below $8 billion before news of the potential takeover first broke late last year.

In October, Walgreens said it planned to close about 1,200 of its more than 8,000 stores in the United States over the next three years in an effort to cut costs and change focus. NACS Daily reported earlier this year that Walgreens closed 70 stores in its fiscal first quarter and plans to shutter around 500 this year.