SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — Walgreens just announced they are closing 1,200 stores across the country and that number could jump to 2,000.
But the pharmacy giant isn't alone.
Earlier this month, Big Lots and 7-Eleven also announced they are planning to close stores and, for several reasons, that's causing a lot of concern across our community.
“A lot of people have turned to online shopping, particularly after the pandemic and those stores that have physical locations are being hurt by that,” said USD Economics Professor Alan Gin.
He says many brick-and-mortar businesses are struggling, including 7-Eleven, which announced this week that they're closing more than 400 underperforming stores.
The convenience store retailer says inflation and declining cigarette sales have hurt their bottom line.
Walgreens says they're struggling to contend with online competitors and declining prescription drug payments.
Meanwhile, Big Lots just announced they're shutting down their store in National City, making it their fourth location to close in our county this year. Professor Gin fears things could get a lot worse.
“I think some people are beginning to become tapped out as far as their spending powers go,” he said. “They've run up a big amount of credit card debt and as a result of that, they may be cutting back on their spending.”
Many of the closures are happening in lower-income areas where there aren't a lot of other options. That’s making it tougher for people living in those communities to get important goods like medications.
“San Ysidro, one of the communities that we serve is already a pharmacy desert,” said Lisa Cuestas, President and CEO of Casa Familiar, a non-profit that supports low-income community members.
She says the trickle-down effect of these closures runs deep.
“Those kinds of jobs at a Walgreens, at a 7-Eleven, those are jobs that young people can access and can walk to from the neighborhood often. First job opportunities. That's a big deficit in our community and many other communities that struggle with poverty and high unemployment rates.”
Walgreens has started lowering prices to try and bring customers back, but it's too early to tell if that's enough to prevent even more closures.