Market Navigator: US Drugstore and Pharmacy Retailers—A Strong Focus on Healthcare Expansion in 2024 and Beyond

Published – February 2024

Each Market Navigator report offers an in-depth, data-rich view of a retail, consumer or technology sector and is packed with data on sectors, segments, companies and consumers. Our analysts discuss at greater length the sector themes they are observing and the insights they are forming on their markets. We intend these definitive guides to serve as points of reference to those in the retail ecosystem, guiding readers’ strategic decision-making and assisting them in tapping opportunities and navigating disruption in retail and adjacent industries.

In this Market Navigator, Coresight Research explores drugstore and pharmacy retailers operating in the US. Dive in today to gain insights into emerging ideas and opportunities, understand the growth trajectory of the market and explore the competitive landscape. You will discover key insights about market factors, consumer behavior and preferences—based on proprietary survey findings—the US macro context and more. We also discuss the themes we are watching in the market, aligning with our RESET framework. Key topics covered in this report include sustainability, GenAI (generative artificial intelligence), consumerized healthcare and private-label offerings.

Included with this Market Navigator: 

• Grab quick access to charts, data points and conclusions in the presentation download
• Access the data behind key charts and tables in the Excel download

Data in this research report include:

• Market size and year-over-year growth rates, 2018–2027E
• Sales breakdowns by sector, 2022
• Online sales, year-over-year growth and e-commerce penetration rates, 2018–2027E
• Prescription and non-prescription drug Consumer Price Index (CPI), as well as the pharmacies and drugstores Producer Price Index (PPI)
• Revenues, operating margins and store portfolios of leading companies from across the US drugstore and pharmacy landscape
• Proprietary survey data on where US consumers are shopping and what they are buying, as well as how they are changing their shopping habits in response to inflation

Introduction

What We Think

• A Focus on Private-Label Products
• The Consumerization of Healthcare
• Increased Competition from Non-Drugstore Retailers
• Rationalization of Store Footprints

Blue-Sky Thinking

• 3D-Printed Medicine
• GenAI in US Drugstores and Pharmacies
• Pet Health Centers Within Drugstores

The US Drugstore and Pharmacy Market

• Market Scale and Opportunity
• Segment Breakdown
• Online Market
• Market Factors

The Companies

• Competitive Landscape
• Operating Margins
• Store Numbers and Changes
• Store Traffic
• Benchmarking to BEST

Survey Analysis: Where Consumers Are Shopping and What They Are Buying

Themes We Are Watching

• Responsive
• Engaging
• Socially Responsible
• Expansive
• Tech-Enabled

Retail Innovators

Macro Context

• The Coresight Research View on the US Consumer Economy
• Unemployment and Wages
• Real Disposable Income Per Capita
• Savings Rate
• Interest Rates and the Housing Market
• Gasoline Prices
• Consumer Spending

Notes and Methodology

Appendix: About the Coresight Research BEST Framework

Appendix: About the Coresight Research RESET Framework

47-page PDF report

Adobe, Albertsons, Amazon, Best Buy, Chewsy, Cityblock Health, CVS Health, Dollar General, Good Neighbor Pharmacy, Google, Hy-Vee, Koninklijke Ahold Delhaize, Kroger, Microsoft, Publix, Rite Aid, Target, Walgreens Boots Alliance, Walmart

1. US Drugstores and Pharmacies’ Total Sales (Left Axis; USD Bil.) and YoY% Change (Right Axis; %)
2. 2022: US Drugstores and Pharmacies: Estimated Sector Sales by Category (Left; % of Total Sales); and Major Drugstore Chains: Proportion of Retail Sales Accounted for by Pharmacy Sales (Right; % of Total Retail Sales)
3. US Distribution of Prescription Medication Sales (%)
4. US and Drugstore and Pharmacy Retailers’ Online Sales (Left Axis; USD Bil.) and YoY % Change (Right Axis; %)
5. US Drugstore and Pharmacy Retailers’ E-Commerce Penetration Rate
6. Selected States Where Pharmacists Can Prescribe Medication and Conditions of Pharmacist Prescriptions
7. YoY Inflation (% Change in CPI) in Prescription (Rx) and Non-Prescription Drugs in the US
8. Pharmacies and Drugstores PPI Vs. Prescription Drugs CPI (YoY % Change)
9. YoY Inflation (% Change in CPI) in Personal Care, Food-at-Home and Beauty Products in the US
10. Leading US Drugstore Chains and Pharmacies: US Revenues (USD Bil.)
11. US Major Drugstore Chains: Share of Total US Retail Sales in the Drugstore and Pharmacy Sector (%)
12. US Drugstore and Pharmacy Landscape: Key Comparable Metrics of Selected Retailers
13. US Drugstores: Operating Margins (%)
14. Major Drugstore Chains and Pharmacies: US Store Numbers
15. US Major Drugstore Retailers’ Store Traffic: YoY % Change
16. Respondents Who Purchased from a Drugstore or Pharmacy in the Three Months Prior to Our November 2023 Survey: Retailers Purchased From (% of Respondents)
17. Respondents Who Purchased from a Drugstore or Pharmacy in the Three Months Prior to Our November 2023 Survey: Categories Purchased (% of Respondents)
18. Tracked Store Closures by Major US Drugstore Chains
19. Recent M&A Deals in the Drugstore Sector
20. Private-Label Volume Share by Channel and Segment
21. US Unemployment Rate (Left Axis; %) and US Average Hourly Wages (Right Axis; %)
22. US Real Disposable Income Per Capita: YoY Change
23. Personal Saving Rate (Left Axis; %) and YoY Change (Right Axis; PPTs)
24. New Housing Starts (Left Axis) and Case-Shiller Home Price Index (Right Axis)
25. US Regular All Formulations Gas Price (USD per Gallon; Left Axis)* and University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index (Right Axis)
26. US Real and Nominal Consumer Spending Growth (YoY % Change)