Pharmacy foot traffic continued double-digit growth patterns as the retail sector continued its post-COVID-19 recovery, with CVS and Walgreens leading the pack. 

The brands are poised to return to year-over-two-year growth by March 2021, according to new data from Placer.ai, with CVS seeing visit growth of 39/9% in August and Walgreens posting a 45.2% improvement in the same period. Foot traffic in September was up 22.1% for CVS and 26.2% for Walgreens, a decline that was likely tempered by the resumption of normal school and work patterns. Still, visits were still significantly higher than in September 2019.

"While COVID vaccines and testing – especially amid the rising Delta variant – and a wider focus on health certainly contributed, the unique retail environment clearly played a significant role," Placer.ai's Ethan Chernofsky says in a new analysis. "The summer saw a major spike in visits across the board with likely contributors ranging from pent up demand for brick and mortar retail to less international travel leading to larger groups making a retail trip."