Wegmans: No new pharmacies? - Retail Watchers (2024)

Here's something peculiar I've noticed about Wegmans: as of late, the chain seems to have reversed on opening pharmacy units within their stores.

I did think for a moment it was mostly based on distribution issues, as Virginia Beach and the North Carolina locations are quite the distance from their nearest DC in Pennsylvania. However, it oddly seems their NYC stores (Brooklyn and Harrison) lack them too. The latter mostly due to space, but the other one doesn't really seem excusable at the moment.

I'm simply a bit curious on this issue as this is a rather peculiar trend. Are they trying to acknowledge their position as a "destination store"? Are their existing units low-performing?

Alpha8472 wrote: ↑August 5th, 2020, 9:08 amCOVID-19 has devastated pharnacies. People avoid going to pharmacies now. Mail order is king. They are no longer attracting customers into grocery stores as much.

Not really......CVS is off by a small amount. Walgreen's is actually up but hit by higher costs in the US.
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/05/cvs-hea ... -2020.html
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/09/walgree ... -2020.html

My own anecdote--I've had to fill a couple prescriptions recently and my local CVS---a relatively high volume 24 hour store-- was just as busy as pre-COVID in terms of the line for the pharmacy.

Alpha8472 wrote: ↑August 5th, 2020, 9:08 amCOVID-19 has devastated pharnacies. People avoid going to pharmacies now. Mail order is king. They are no longer attracting customers into grocery stores as much.

It may be a less worthy deal, but I doubt this outbreak had any effect on these decisions. At that I do not see any plans to close existing in-store pharmacies; plus, they do seem to tout that they've been ranked #1/#2 of its kind in the United States.

FYI; the last new pharmacy Wegmans opened was in 2018 (Lancaster, PA). I have also read somewhere that the latest crop of Wegmans stores were designed some years prior to their opening.

A lot of the supermarket pharmacies have lost business recently as CVS and Walmart have been offering free delivery or free curbside prescription pickup. Most supermarket pharmacies are not offering that since Wegman's and other low volume supermarket pharmacies do not offer free delivery or curbside pickup. Many people have lost their insurance and have to go to the big chain drugstores which offer lower prices or better discounts. CVS is gaining some customers at the expense of higher priced supermarket pharmacies. Often a supermarket pharmacy has only 1 employee on duty. That employee cannot run outside and do a curbside prescription delivery.

Some supermarket pharmacies are doing terribly with just 1 pharmacist and very few prescriptions being filled. The pharmacies are just not as profitable as they used to be.

Many people seem to believe they are forced to get their prescriptions from CVS in my area due to their insurance plans. I'm not sure if it is true or not but both friends and family members are under this impression. So the CVS pharmacies in my area are routinely packed (when they are open; their hours are quite short); long lines all over the place and at the few with drive throughs, very long lines at the drive throughs. If you need a script filled quickly you are absolutely screwed. The front ends are literal morgues; customers are unhappy with CVS's pharmacy service and do not seem to want to spend any money in the stores on merchandise.

Wegman's evidently has learned what Stater, Schnucks, Raleys, and a handfull of other small grocers have learned: pharmacy is no longer profitable for grocers in some locations.

I think some of the grocers that are trying to keep their pharmacies going have opted to stop accepting certain insurance plans and try to eek out a profit by running with one pharmacist on shift and a very low volume of customers.

Kroger and Albertsons appear to be committed to the pharmacy business and run some very high volume pharmacies, especially Kroger. Kroger's pharmacy network seems very strong. I think Albertsons has some pretty low volume pharmacies in some spots though and am wondering if their entire network of pharmacies is viable or only part of their network.

Also off topic but noticed there does not appear to be a pharmacy in the new build Save Mart in Redding... I think they have had pharmacy in previous new builds. There is no drugstore in that shopping center.

storewanderer wrote: ↑August 5th, 2020, 5:38 pmWegman's evidently has learned what Stater, Schnucks, Raleys, and a handfull of other small grocers have learned: pharmacy is no longer profitable for grocers in some locations.

I think some of the grocers that are trying to keep their pharmacies going have opted to stop accepting certain insurance plans and try to eek out a profit by running with one pharmacist on shift and a very low volume of customers.

Kroger and Albertsons appear to be committed to the pharmacy business and run some very high volume pharmacies, especially Kroger. Kroger's pharmacy network seems very strong. I think Albertsons has some pretty low volume pharmacies in some spots though and am wondering if their entire network of pharmacies is viable or only part of their network.

Also off topic but noticed there does not appear to be a pharmacy in the new build Save Mart in Redding... I think they have had pharmacy in previous new builds. There is no drugstore in that shopping center.

Sounds most likely the case concerning Wegmans. Their recent store openings have all been in new markets (NYC, VA Beach, North Carolina), so perhaps customer tastes aren't really welcoming to their own pharmacies there?

From my personal experiences- Harris Teeter, haven't really seen many folks head there for prescriptions; Safeway, a little bit more than HT for instance. It is somewhat odd.

On another note- not sure if this is really intent for said thread, but Wegmans does seem to have cheapened out a bit on stores as well. For instance, I remember when most locations were still being built with second-floor seating, and the decor was somewhat more ornate rather than resembling typical grocers more. It's still nice, but some of the amenities seem to be gone.

Alpha8472 wrote: ↑August 5th, 2020, 3:20 pmMany people have lost their insurance and have to go to the big chain drugstores which offer lower prices or better discounts. CVS is gaining some customers at the expense of higher priced supermarket pharmacies.

CVS and low prices? You are joking right? Compare most basic common medications using GoodRx or such and CVS, Rite Aid, Walgreens almost always come out the highest.

So I've asked the Wegmans subreddit and I've gotten a few answers on this topic.

https://www.reddit.com/r/wegmans/commen ... ew_stores/

One employee has stated that brand loyalty is the reason why their stores in their latest markets (Hampton Roads, North Carolina, NYC) have lacked pharmacies. The last two markets the chain expanded to, Boston and Central Virginia (Richmond/Charlottesville) included pharmacy departments in most stores. Customers in these areas did not opt for prescriptions there, likely stifling the business of said pharmacies. To add, overhead costs are also an issue with running these pharmacies. I cannot tell if such a rule will also apply to new stores in established markets.