Quick Facts
- Dollar General plans to open roughly 450 new U.S. stores in 2026, targeting former drugstore properties at a fraction of new construction costs
- More than 2,700 retail pharmacies closed in the past two years, with Walgreens shuttering over 500 stores by early 2026
- Former Rite Aid sites average 10,000-12,000 square feet, larger than typical 7,500-square-foot Dollar General stores
Dollar General is aggressively expanding into former drugstore locations as pharmacy closures accelerate across the United States. The discount retailer plans to open roughly 450 new stores in 2026, capitalizing on real estate opportunities created by widespread drugstore shutdowns.
The expansion comes as more than 2,700 retail pharmacies have closed in the last two years. Just in 2024 alone, more than 2,200 pharmacies shut their doors, averaging about eight closures per day.
Walgreens has led the closures under new private equity ownership. By early 2026, the company had already shuttered more than 500 of the 1,200 stores targeted in its 2024 restructuring plan. Sycamore Partners completed a $10 billion acquisition of Walgreens in August 2025.
Rite Aid, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for the second time in late 2025, closed approximately 1,240 stores. The Philadelphia-based chain is exiting the New York market almost entirely, with most remaining locations expected to close within the first three months of 2026.
Dollar General has quietly backfilled dozens of former drugstore sites. At least five former Rite Aid buildings in Pennsylvania reopened as Dollar General stores last year, including locations in Fairview Township, Hazelwood, Silver Spring Township, Mechanicsburg, and New Cumberland.
The strategy offers significant cost advantages. Former drugstore properties can be acquired and retrofitted at a fraction of new construction costs, which have increased over 40% since 2019, according to outgoing CEO Todd Vasos.
Former Rite Aid sites, averaging 10,000-12,000 square feet, are larger than typical 7,500-square-foot Dollar General stores, providing additional flexibility for merchandising.
‘Looking ahead to 2026, we are excited about our plans to drive continued growth through a variety of initiatives designed to further enhance the customer experience, elevate our brand, drive greater enterprise-wide efficiencies, and extend our reach,’ Vasos said.
The closures have created pharmacy deserts affecting nearly 100 million Americans without convenient access to pharmacies. In Greater Boston alone, almost 15,000 residents now live more than half a mile from the nearest drugstore.
Amazon Pharmacy has emerged as another beneficiary, expanding same-day prescription delivery to 4,500 cities and towns by the end of 2026, adding nearly 2,000 new communities.
The drugstore decline reflects broader industry challenges. Pharmacy benefit managers have consistently squeezed margins, sometimes reimbursing pharmacies below their actual medication costs. E-commerce and discount retailers have also undermined the traditional model of using pharmacy traffic to drive sales of higher-margin retail items.
Read more: Drugstore closures are fueling discount chains’ expansion plans
