Hugely Popular New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania Retailer Announces Closure of 1,200 Stores

2024 was not a banner year for retailers.

The struggles of the times continue, with more and more customers opting for a digital or online experience.

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According to reports, over 4,000 stores were closed in the United States.

Many of these were large retailers who continued to consolidate and cut costs massively.

What kinds of businesses are closing fastest?

Discount and department stores have been hard hit.

Family Dollar closed 600 stores and claimed that it did not meet expectations.

Walmart and Target closed some of their poorer-performing locations but expanded to build new stores in other regions.

It's also been shaky for fashion outlets.

Rue 21 shut its 540 sites after filing for bankruptcy and liquidating assets across all stores, while Express had to discontinue more than 100 locations.

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One of the more surprising closures for me has been pharmacy chains.

Rite Aid closed 520 sites as part of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy business restructuring.

CVS has closed less-than-stellar-performing locations but has decided not to shut them all down at once. Instead, they have been "trimming" store numbers for several years.

Walgreens is planning a similar method.

Why is Walgreens closing so many stores in 2025?

AOL reports that Walgreens will shut down 1,200 stores due to declining consumer spending.

There are two primary reasons why the pharmacy giant is consolidating.

First, Amazon is changing the game.

Many used to swing by Walgreens for items other than prescriptions.

Thanks to Amazon, you can purchase any item you usually would get at a pharmacy chain and have it delivered to your door same-day in some cases.

Secondly, pharmacy chains, including Walgreens, have difficulty getting "drug middlemen" to reimburse them.

There are 100 Walgreens locations in Pennsylvania, 469 in New York, and 254 in New Jersey.

As of this writing, Walgreens has not announced the over 500 stores they plan on closing in 2025.

Many of these stores may not be around next year as well.