Customers may see Walgreens stores that are one-fourth the size of a regular location or CVS drugstores with entire primary clinics stuffed inside. If these experiments succeed, the new stores might improve access to care and create a more lasting connection with customers, analysts say.
Some are responding with new looks. Walgreens is testing a store in Chicago that has digital kiosks where customers place orders. A separate desk offers pickup of items ordered at the kiosks or online. But there are no magazines and only small selections of greeting cards and beauty products at the store, which is closed on Sundays and sits about a half mile from a vacant Walgreens.
CVS Health says it is putting the clinics in areas that need primary care. It is targeting big cities like Chicago, New York and Dallas with its initial rollout. Some also are adding doctor’s offices or specializing in diabetes care. Proctor said they are doing what they have always done:Diving into health care isn’t new for drugstores. They started adding small clinics more than 20 years ago. CVS Health has been on a health kick since it quit selling tobacco in 2014.