Landlord asset managers look for ways to increase revenue as retail occupancy exceeds 96%

With retail occupancy roving around 96%, asset managers face a major challenge that defies their mandate: continually growing rental income on what is essentially a fully occupied and stabilized property. Increasingly, they are turning to alternative uses and non-traditional on-site methods to grow ancillary income that differ from a property's primary purpose (rent growth from long-term leases of leasable space). Some examples:

- RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust launched the Spacewise Next Generation Property Marketing Portal, which categorizes and catalogues just about every possible way a landlord can promote opportunities for brands and other businesses, according to RioCan's John McKinnon and Meredith Vlitas, MES.

- DLC Management Corp. is leasing the roof space to Radial Power LLC for solar installations at open-air centers for lucrative rents aided by federal, state and local incentives, according to DLC's Chris Ressa.

- Electrify America seeks 10-year leases with options for parking lot EV chargers that not only bring income to landlords but also generate retail sales for the center's stores and restaurants, according to Electrify America's Brandy Mathie.

Read more: Beyond Rent: Retail asset managers turn to ancillary income to grow revenue streams (Shopping Center Business)

British luxury mattress maker to open 17 new U.S. Vispring-branded stores in 2025

Vispring Ltd, a British maker of luxury mattresses is expanding throughout the U.S. with 17 new Vispring-branded stores opening in 2025. The first store opened in Corona Del Mar (Newport Beach, California) in January, with additional store-showrooms in SoHo (New York City) and at the Dallas Design Center, which opened this month making six store showrooms now open in the U.S., considering the brand is already 124 years old. More openings this fall will be in Denver, Washington, D.C. and San Diego. Vispring mattresses are also sold at other stores.

According to Martin Gill, managing director of Vispring, the American market's reception to (Vispring's products supports the expansion) in key metropolitan areas (in the U.S.).

In addition to the U.S. market, Vispring sells its handcrafted mattresses throughout 58 countries. Now owned by The Flex Group in Spain, Vispring is a sister company to E.S. Kluft & Co., maker of Kluft mattresses.

Read more: U.K. bed maker with $100K-plus mattress picks D-FW for new store (The Dallas Morning News)

Multifamily continues to drive mall expansions

Valuations of enclosed malls have generally declined over the past 10 years when lenders provided mortgage loans and packaged them through securitized debt investor offerings, some of which cannot be refinanced at those levels today, given the lower valuations and higher lending costs.

But, the darling of commercial real estate today is MULTIFAMILY, not retail. When malls add multifamily, the combined retail-residential valuations in those properties increase tremendously because there is considerable demand for rental residential properties in the U.S. driven by organic population growth and immigration.

Certainly, Rick J. Caruso understood that when he was building The Americana at Brand 20 years ago in Glendale, Calif. Simon Property Group and Brookfield Properties have also been adding residential to malls in recent years. Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield has been very focused on this trend with a strategy to add multifamily at Westfield Montgomery in Bethesda, Md., Westfield Garden State Plaza in Paramus, N.J. and Westfield Old Orchard in Chicagoland.

The first residential property to be developed on a Westfield retail property in the U.S. is the massive Palisade at Westfield’s University Towne Center (UTC) in San Diego, a 23-story luxury residential high rise that was built as part of a full-scale revitalization of the mall completed post-Covid.

URW will likely offload a few more U.S. malls in the foreseeable future just like it did with Westfield San Francisco Centre. Earlier this year, it defaulted on a $234.6 million loan on Westfield Shoppingtown Wheaton Plaza in Wheaton, Maryland.

While URW continues to whittle down the number of American malls it owns, the company is likely to keep the most valuable A++ properties with redevelopment potential. When it comes to owning malls, URW, the French owner of many of the world’s best malls has a strategy that can be characterized as "moins, mais mieux,” or “less, but better.”

Read more: Less, but better: Inside URW’s US mall strategy (CoStar News)

Alphabet Inc. continues to open Google branded stores

Alphabet Inc. continues to open Google Stores, although at a slow and measured pace.

In 2025, new Google Stores opened at the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica and at the Domain NORTHSIDE in Austin with a third under construction at Aventura Mall north of Miami and a fourth in Washington, D.C.’s Georgetown neighborhood.

In 2024, a Google Store opened on Newbury Street in Boston and one in Oakbrook Center near Chicago. The new stores to open later this year makes nine for Google, not counting pop-ups that previously opened and closed. Google's first permanent retail store opened in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City in June 2021.

All except the Aventura interior mall location have exterior entrances. Sizes range from 2,257 sq. ft. for the Domain store to as high as 7,000 sq. ft. for the Georgetown store where the company signed a 10-year lease with EastBanc. JLL was the tenant rep for Google in the lease transaction with EastBanc.

The Google Store typically sells Google devices, accessories and merchandise, including Google phones and Chromebooks. The Georgetown store will also have on-site device repair, trade-ins and support for device installation, setup and troubleshooting, similar to the Apple Stores.

Unlike Apple, which runs its own stores, the Google stores are operated by
Mosaic North America, which hires staff and handles inventory and transactions. Mosaic has been operating Google Stores since its first pop-up opened in 2016.

The Google Store is planning an international expansion with large ~15,000 sq. ft. locations planned for New Delhi and Mumbai possibly in 2026. It appears like the physical retail presence for Google Store rollout is working and more will be announced soon.

Read more: The eighth Google Store will be in Miami (9to5Google)

Levi Strauss & Co.'s Beyond Yoga opening more stores

Watch out lululemon and Athleta: Competition is coming your way.

Levi Strauss & Co.'s specialty activewear brand Beyond Yoga is moving forward with its brick-and-mortar expansion. The company opened its first East Coast store today (06-06-2025) in Greenwich, Conn.

The new store is about 2,700 square feet, which is double the average size of Beyond Yoga’s other seven other locations: Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, Larchmont Village in L.A., Irvine Company Spectrum Center, Westfield Century City, Broadway Plaza in Walnut Creek, Chicago's Fulton Market and Bellevue Square near Seattle.

Levi Strauss & Co. bought Beyond Yoga in 2021. Other Beyond Yoga locations planned include Westport, Conn. at the Elm & Main shopping center, formerly known as Brooks Corner and one will open later this year in Boston.

Leading the expansion is Nancy Green, Beyond Yoga's CEO who previously oversaw Athleta as it grew from 39 to 175 stores. Beyond Yoga is expanding from 8 to 14 by the end of the 2025.

Earlier this year Green said the brand could have "at least 200 stores" over time. The newly opened larger format store will allow Beyond Yoga to carry an expanded line of inventory as well as hold events. She said, "We have to iterate and tweak some things as we learn and then we nail it, and then we scale it. So test, iterate, nail it and scale it."

Read more: Exclusive: Beyond Yoga is planting roots on the East Coast with a new Connecticut store (Modern Retail)

Variety Wholesalers, Inc. has reopened 219 Big Lots stores

Variety Wholesalers, Inc. will reopen 78 Big Lots stores this week throughout Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.

It’s part of a deal with Gordon Brothers Retail Partners that was inked earlier this year through which Variety Wholesale Partners bought 219 Big Lots store leases under bankruptcy. This week’s openings complete a phased reopening strategy that began in April.

Variety now operates 422 stores across 18 states under retail banners such as Roses Discount Stores, Roses Express, Maxway and now Big Lots.

Read more: Nearly 80 Big Lots stores reopen this week across multiple states (Fox Business)

Eataly is expanding with full-size and small-size concept stores

Eataly, which now operates 14 locations in North America and more than 50 worldwide is continuing its expansion with a new full-size location in South Florida, several small concepts at airports and retail locations in New York.

Near Miami, Eataly will open at the Aventura Mall on June 12, a 30,000-square-foot space with two sit-down restaurants, a cafè with several quick service counters, a retail section, a wine store and a cooking school.

Last week, Eataly opened its first-ever QSR, called Eataly Caffé at Rockefeller Center. A second location is set to open in June at The Shops & Restaurants at Hudson Yards New York.

Then, Eataly will open three small locations in Terminals 4, 5 and 8 at John F. Kennedy International Airport sometime this year. The outposts will be operated by HMSHost.

Read more: Eataly Is on an Aggressive Expansion Spree in NYC (MSN)

Kendra Scott told ICSC Las Vegas convention attendees that the retailer will go global

With an inspiring opening interview by ICSC COO Whitney Livingston, Kendra Scott, the founder of Kendra Scott kicks off the 2025 ICSC convention in Las Vegas on Sunday, May 18.

Kendra demonstrates that as an entrepreneur all you need is $500 and a dream.

In 2002, just three months after Kendra’s first son was born, she launched her jewelry line with only $500. Her internal and external beauty, vibrant personality and unique eye for design captivated Austin businesses and customers alike, paving the way for a billion-dollar lifestyle brand that’s celebrated for its design and material innovation, vibrant use of color,
and signature silhouettes.

Kendra’s brand went nationwide when she made her first deal with Nordstrom. However, as a self starter, she struggled through 2008 during the Great Recession when she decided to go DTC. She opened her first signature store in 2010 in Austin. Now she has 152 U.S. stores and she said she will expand globally—1,000%.

Her company continues to operate out of Austin, where she resides with her family. In her speech this afternoon in Las Vegas, she underscored her love of Texas with its Southern hospitality. She said, she usually wears cowboy boots and rides horses in her traditional Texas ranch.

In April 2020, Governor Greg Abbott named Kendra to the Strike Force to Open Texas – a group "tasked with finding safe and effective ways to slowly reopen the state" amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

McDonald's plans to open 900 more restaurants by 2027

McDonald's, the largest fast food chain in the U.S. based on sales has announced an aggressive expansion.

The QSR known for its iconic golden double-arch "M" has more than 13,500 restaurants in the U.S., and still plans to open 900 more by 2027.

Read more: McDonald’s plans to hire 375,000 U.S. workers this summer (Associated Press)

Beyond Inc. buys Kirkland's brand enabling new store conversions

With the newly announced acquisition of Kirkland's by Beyond, Inc., capital is being made available to Kirkland's to accelerate store conversion plans in its rollout of Bed Bath & Beyond Home stores as well as Overstock stores and continue plans for opening buybuy BABY and Bed Bath & Beyond True Blue stores, according to Amy Sullivan, CEO of the 314-store Kirkland’s Home chain.

Beyond's acquisition mostly involves Kirkland’s trademarks that contain “Kirkland,” along with certain related assets, with the intent to license the trademarks back to Kirkland’s for use in connection with their existing retail stores and associated e-commerce websites. It's a marriage made in heaven at a time when Kirkland's needs operating capital and CapEx to convert selected stores into the beloved Bed Bath and related store concepts.

Read more: Kirkland’s bolsters retail conversion plans with Beyond-backed credit agreement (Furniture Today)

Chinese collectible brand Pop Mart continues U.S. brick-and-mortar expansion

POP MART is just one of many examples of why retail real estate professionals need to stay on top of trends to bring in concepts that are unique and have a strong appeal, which in turn makes for a successful multi tenant retail destination.

For me, this means talking to as many people as I can at next week’s ICSC Las Vegas, but it’s not a once-a-year thing. It’s something you have to do every day including read everything you can about retail, delve into social media posts including Youtube channels, conduct AI searches, pay attention to movies and miniseries, visit as many retail destinations in your market and as you travel, and be especially mindful of pop-up concepts and new international entries.

My first contact with POP MART was when Laura DeSwart brought in the first U.S. permanent store to Triple Five Group’s American Dream in September 2023.

What is Pop Mart? It is a globally recognized pop culture and designer toy brand from China. Founded in 2010, Pop Mart has become an Asian culture and entertainment company known for selling collectable “designer” toys, often sold in a “blind box” format, where people buy a surprise collectible.

I was in Chicago when Pop Mart opened its first Chicago location in October 2024 at Centennial’s Shops at North Bridge, the 15th U.S. Pop Mart physical store. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I arrived during opening day to witness a line of several hundred people queuing up on Michigan Avenue to get into the store as late as midday.

In 2024, the company opened 20 U.S. locations, and more are on the way this year in “key cultural hubs” across the country.

This growing U.S. presence, along with its more than 100 overseas stores, drove $1.83 billion in revenue for the company in 2024 (a 107% increase YoY).

This level of success has solidified Pop Mart’s position as a central player in the booming “kidult” industry, nomenclature for the adult toy phenomenon that accounts for as much as $9 billion in U.S. toy sales annually, with recurring favorites that include the LEGO Group, American Girl and Hello Kitty.

Pop Mart mainly sells its own concept brands that feature famous Asian culture icons but also collaborates with some of the biggest names in pop culture, such as The Walt Disney Company, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Marvel Entertainment and Sanrio. However, Pop Mart is selective about what it brings into the Pop Mart fold, because collaborations must have cultural relevance, staying power and a visual appeal that can be adapted into its distinctive toy format.

If you want to learn more about Pop Mart’s real estate expansion in the U.S., contact the Pop Mart team of James Kennemur, and in Canada, contact Don Gregor of Aurora Realty Consultants.

Read more: How Pop Mart is Turning Toys into the Next Drop Culture Phenomenon (Retail TouchPoints)

ALDI USA plans to open 225 new stores in 2025, 800 by 2028 year end

If you were surprised to learn that ALDI USA has plans to open a whopping 225 new stores in 2025, in the U.S., the real surprise is the growth the discount grocery change has planned going forward. This year's openings are just part of a five-year plan to add 800 new stores by the end of 2028.

The 225 stores that Aldi is opening is the most stores ALDI has opened in one year in its nearly 50-year U.S. history. The 2025 store openings are a combination of organic growth and converting select Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarkets to the Aldi format.

The 2025 openings come on top of the roughly 120 stores the chain opened in 2024, giving it 2,400 total stores in 36 states and making Aldi the third-largest grocery chain in the U.S. by store count.

Real estate requirements are:
- ±22,000 square feet with a minimum of 95 dedicated parking spaces
- 2.5 acre pads for purchase and development
- End-cap or inline space with minimum of 103’ of frontage
- Signalized, full access intersection preferred
- Dense trade area population within 3 miles
- Sites located in community and regional shopping districts with convenient access to population
- Sites zoned to allow grocery use
- Daily traffic count in excess of 20,000 vehicles per day

Read more: Beloved Grocery Chain Announces Plans to Open 800 New Stores (Yahoo! Finance)

Vacating Rite Aid spaces will likely be absorbed quickly as supply remains at all-time low

Heading into its second bankruptcy, RITE AID’s real estate is highly adaptable with sizes and features attractive to a broad range of retailers, restaurants and service providers.

With vacancy levels at a multiyear low across the U.S. at single-tenant freestanding sites, convenience, neighborhood and community centers, nearly all the vacated Rite Aid spaces will be absorbed without doubt over the next two years — and at higher rent spreads.

Rite Aid stores are typically freestanding buildings averaging between 10,000 and 15,000 square feet, on sites at high-visibility, high-traffic intersections, which are in great demand.

Expect dollar stores, specialty/ethnic grocers, QSRs, fast casual restaurants, fitness, educational uses and health and wellness tenants to snatch up these leases.

Read more: Here’s where roughly 1,200 Rite Aid leases are on the market (CoStar News)

Necessity driven grocery anchored centers among most sought-after commercial real estate investments

Grocery-anchored open-air neighborhood and community centers continue to be a favorite of CRE investors with no end in sight.

Transaction activity for these properties reached $7 billion in 2024, with deal volume growing by 34% in the second half of the year vs. the first six months, according to JLL. The average price per square foot of these transactions hit a record high of $209.

That is because of many factors, central of which is the traffic that grocery stores continue to drive to these centers since the pandemic started, and although the food service industry has fully recovered, grocery stores continue to thrive.

REIT ownership of grocery-anchored shopping centers is growing faster than private ownership, but private investors were 68 percent of the investor base in 2024, JLL data show.

All the metrics favor grocery-anchored centers, including increased foot traffic, new leasing and renewal activity, rent growth, fast food and fast casual tenants seeking co-tenancy with supermarkets and an enormous interest by services, such as medical and educational tenants, to locate in these types of shopping centers. All will be chasing deals with landlords at ICSC LAS VEGAS this month as the inventory barely meets demand.

Cushman & Wakefield reported that only 8.3 million square feet of retail space was delivered in 2024. Currently, there are only approximately 10.6 million square feet under development nationwide.

Read more: Why Investors Are Hungry for Grocery-Anchored Retail (Commercial Property Executive)

Spicy chicken restaurant concepts continue to expand

Hot chicken concepts, as in "spicy chicken" continue to be hot, as in "popular" and "in demand."

Think of Joella’s Hot Chicken, Hot Chicken Takeover, Hot Chi Chicken, Sonny & Sons, Hattie B's Hot Chicken, Howlin’ Ray’s, Prince's Hot Chicken, Urban Bird Hot Chicken, Haven Hot Chicken, Hangry Joe's Franchising Hot Chicken, Dave's Hot Chicken... The list goes on and on.

Hot chicken concepts are definitely expanding nationwide. For example, Dave's is aiming to open 150 restaurant in 2025, according to Dannon Shiff, Dave's senior vice president of real estate.

Dave's likes restaurants between 2,000 and 3,000 square feet with the ideal prototype being 2,500 square feet. It seeks new or second-generation space in single-tenant buildings, neighborhood centers, food court locations at enclosed malls, entertainment centers, travel centers and other locations.

If there are no Dave's Hot Chicken restaurants where you live, you can visit one at the at the Grand Bazaar Shops on the Las Vegas Strip or a food court location at the Miracle Mile Shops when you come out for the ICSC convention in May.

Read more: Dave’s Hot Chicken Aims for 150 New Locations a Year (ICSC Commerce + Communities Today)

Difficult industry-wide macro environment hurts QSR chains on the West Coast

Jack in the Box will close 150 to 200 locations to shore up long-term finances and reduce debt. Between 80 and 120 Jack in the Box restaurants will close by the end of 2025, and more underperforming locations will shutter in 2026.

The company also plans to increase cash flow by selling a select number of owned real estate holdings, and redirect the proceeds towards reducing debt.

The QSR chain is also considering selling Del Taco, a Mexican American fast food brand that Jack in the Box acquired in 2022.

But here’s the most concerning issue: According to CEO Lance Tucker, Jack in the Box is suffering from what he termed as a “difficult industry-wide macro environment.” What is causing that?

I’ll offer you 10 key factors that are currently affecting the profitability of fast food restaurants, particularly for chains like Jack in the Box that operate a large number of West Coast locations:

1. Labor Costs: California and other West Coast states have implemented higher minimum wages—California, for example, raised its minimum wage for fast food workers to $20/hour in 2024.

2. Staffing Shortages: Even with higher wages, labor shortages persist in some areas, leading to reduced hours, longer wait times and customer complaints.

3. Occupancy Costs: Commercial real estate costs in cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles and Seattle remain high, squeezing margins.

4. Limited Real Estate Opportunities: Good high traffic locations with access, visibility and adequate size to create dual drive-thru lanes are hard to find in large metropolitan markets. Some municipalities make approvals for drive-thru operations nearly impossible to obtain.

5. High Interest Rates: Persistent high costs of borrowing and servicing debt since 2022 has eroded profitability and limited access to capital for renovations and expansions.

6. Food Inflation: The cost of ingredients—especially meat, dairy and produce—has risen due to supply chain disruptions, climate-related events and general inflation.

7. Regulatory Pressure: Stringent labor laws, paid leave requirements and environmental regulations, e.g., limits on single-use plastics, often add compliance costs.

8. Changing Consumer Preferences: There’s a growing demand for healthier, plant-based or locally sourced food. Meeting this demand requires changes in sourcing and menu development, which can raise costs.

9. Third-party Delivery Fees: Heavy reliance on delivery services like DoorDash and Uber Eats cuts into profits due to high commission fees (often 15–30%).

10. Competition: Intense competition from expansion of successful fast food chains, fast casual, ghost kitchens and food trucks keeps pressure on pricing.

Jack in the Box currently operates 600 Del Taco restaurants across 17 states and about 2,200 Jack in the Box locations across 22 states, primarily on the West Coast. The first Jack in the Box restaurant opened in San Diego in 1951.

Read more: San Diego-based fast food chain Jack in the Box to close more than 150 locations (Los Angeles Times)

Shopping centers make ideal location for flying taxis vertiports

Can you picture a vertiport on the parking lot of one of your shopping centers bringing in additional revenue and lots of affluent shoppers? No? Why, because you don't know what it is?

Well, a vertiport is the take-off and landing site for electrically powered aircraft taking off and landing vertically. It can be part of a vertihub if there is a large volume of air traffic where several vertiports are located. A vertiport is similar to a heliport or helipad. It is a take-off and landing site for a large number of eVTOLs.

Short for electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft, eVTOLs are also referred to as air taxis or flying taxis. Powered by batteries, eVTOLs hover and fly, much like a helicopter, and are typically designed to carry two to six passengers, including a pilot. That is, if a pilot is used as eVTOLs can take off, fly and land by remote control just like a drone.

As we enter the Jetson era, flying taxis powered by electricity will become more common to transport affluent passengers in congested urban and suburban settings. Obviously, air taxis need a location to take off, land and recharge where passengers can board or disembark. That is why real estate sites are needed for vertiports.

Los Angeles-based Commercial Brokers International has lined up eight sites around Los Angeles for vertiports that could lift off in time for the 2028 Olympics. CEO George Pino led the site search for this unusual use.

Its client, United Kingdom-based Skyports Drone Services plans to operate these vertiports much like traditional airports — offering recharging, maintenance and passenger services — while third-party aviation companies oversee the aircraft that resemble large drones due to their size, fuel efficiency and potential to be operated without a pilot. By 2028, Skyports wants its first Los Angeles terminals open for business at rooftops, parking structures and industrial sites across the region.

Shopping centers are best suited to provide these locations for several reasons: 1) Shopping centers are large centrally located commercial venues that attract many people, 2) Shopping centers have large parking fields that can accommodate the landing and charging facilities, 3) Shopping centers can benefit from the upscale consumer traffic these eVTOLs would bring, and 4) Shopping centers are always looking for ancillary income that would be generated from the operators of vertiports.

Read more: Brokerage aims to help get LA's flying taxi industry off the ground (CoStar News)

After exhausting appeals, Transformco retains Mall of America's 100-year Sears lease

After exhausting all appeals, Transformco retains the remaining term of the 100-year Sears lease at Mall of America.

One provision in the Sears lease was very damaging to the landlord. Lease language allowed Sears “after 15 years of operation, to cease to operate and sublease any portion of the property, or assign the entire lease, all without the landlord’s consent.” However, Sears is no longer the tenant or the holder of the lease but Transformco is, a distant Sears successor.

Transformco, officially known as Transform Holdco LLC, is a privately held company established in February of 2019, to acquire assets of Sears Holdings Corporation following its bankruptcy. The Sears store at Mall of America closed permanently in late March 2019.

The store has remained closed for six years, a travesty for a vibrant mall that has been fighting in court to recover the space so it can bring in a productive anchor.

Now, either Transformco assigns the lease to another user or the landlord has to buy the lease from the tenant to revitalize the mall.

Long-term anchor deals made decades ago can have profound consequences even today.

Read more: Supreme Court lets $10-a-year Sears lease stand at Mall of America (CoStar News)

Chipotle Mexican Grill will open first restaurant in Mexico in 2026

America’s favorite Mexican restaurant is about to test its formula with the real Mexican food experts when Chipotle Mexican Grill opens its first restaurant in Mexico 🇲🇽 in early 2026.

The global fast-casual chain has signed a development agreement with Alsea S.A.B. de C.V., a restaurant operator with thousand of restaurants from quick service, coffee shop and full-service brands in many countries in Latin America and Europe. If successful, and I have no doubt it will, Alsea will follow with additional restaurants in other Latin American markets in the region. Armando Torrado, CEO of Alsea plans to expand Chipotle internationally for years to come.

The deal with Alsea is similar to a deal that Chipotle made two years ago with the Alshaya Group, which together with Chipotle, has since opened three locations in Kuwait and two in the UAE.

Chipotle plans to open between 315 and 345 new locations in 2025. The chain will also accelerate growth in Canada and the Middle East in 2025, according to Chipotle CEO Scott Boatwright.

The global chain ultimately plans to have as many as 7,000 restaurants across North America under the Chipotle banner. Known for its burritos and bowls, Chipotle currently has a presence in six international markets: Canada, the U.K., France, Germany, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.

Read more: Chipotle to open Mexican locations for the first time in 2026 (Fox Business)

Walmart and Amazon speed up home delivery of prescription drugs

America’s two largest retailers, Walmart and Amazon want to deliver prescriptions to your doorstep in as little as a few hours as competition in the drugstore business is getting more fierce.

CVS Health and Walgreens delivers on the same day nationally and has done so for years, but the fast delivery trend for prescriptions is growing as traditional drugstores close and more people use telemedicine or subscription-based care that encourages regular deliveries. Shopping habits do change over time.

Instacart got into prescription deliveries during the COVID-19 pandemic when it started delivering for Costco Wholesale. The grocery delivery company has since launched same-day delivery services for Wegmans Food Markets and Publix Super Markets.

Amazon expects to offer same-day prescription deliveries to nearly half of its U.S. customers by the end of this year. It’s adding 20 small pharmacies to distribution centers around the country to improve delivery speeds. It also opened 10 prescription processing centers in the past few years. “We’re building a modern pharmacy, what we like to think of as a pharmacy in your pocket,” Hannah McClellan Richards, VP of operations, product and technology at Amazon said last fall.

Walmart expanded same-day deliveries earlier this year to every state except North Dakota, where it has no pharmacies. Walmart customers can get their medicines along with groceries or other merchandise in one same-day delivery. According to Kevin Host, PharmD, pharmacy senior vice president at Walmart, prescription deliveries were the top thing customers requested when surveyed by the company.

It's not your grandmother's drugstore any more when it comes to prescriptions.

Read more: More pharmacies offer to speed prescription deliveries to customers (Associated Press)